Born in Plumstead, Kent, May left school at thirteen to work at the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS).
[2] At the International Co-operative Alliance congress in 1913, May took the chair at the last minute, after its secretary, Hans Müller, became unwell.
Shortly after, he was elected as the Alliance's secretary, holding the post until his death; in particular, he took the lead in maintaining contacts through World War I and convened a new international congress in 1921.
[2] In 1917, he persuaded the Co-op Parliamentary Committee's members to constitute a Co-operative Parliamentary Representation Committee, for which he stood at the January 1918 Prestwich by-election as its first candidate, although he was not elected.
[2] May died of cancer on 19 November 1939 in Eltham, London, and was buried in Plumstead Cemetery.