Henry John May (16 July 1867 – 19 November 1939) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

co-operative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

activist and from 1913 to 1939 he was Secretary of the

International Co-operative Alliance The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895 to unite, represent an ...

. Born in

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic counties of England, historic county of Kent and the detail of mu ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, May left school at thirteen to work at the

Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) was a large consumer co-operative based in south east London, England. The co-operative took its name from the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich and its motto was: "Each for all and all for e ...

(RACS). He completed an engineering apprenticeship at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

and joined the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

, but after meeting Thomas Blandford, directed his spare time back to the RACS. He joined its board and became editor of its journal, ''Comradeship'', then in 1898 was elected to the national board of the

Co-operative Union Co-operatives UK is a British co-operative federation described as "the central membership organisation for co-operative enterprise throughout the UK". It was founded in 1870 as the Co-operative Central Board, changing its name to the Co-oper ...

. From 1905 until 1913, he was secretary of the Union's southern region, and in 1909 became secretary of the

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK (p ...

' Parliamentary Committee.H. F. Bing, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.235-237 At the

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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and convened a new international congress in 1921. 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. He stood again for the committee, soon to be renamed the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...

, in Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire at the 1918 general election, but again missed out on election. May served as the president of the Co-operative Congress in 1929, and also served on the

National Peace Council The National Peace Council (NPC), founded in 1908 and disbanded in 2000, acted as the co-ordinating body for almost 200 groups across Britain, with a membership ranging from small village peace groups to national trade unions and local authorities. ...

, International Peace Campaign and attended the

World Disarmament Conference The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, generally known as the Geneva Conference or World Disarmament Conference, was an international conference of states held in Geneva, Switzerland, between February 1932 and November 1934 ...

. May died of cancer on 19 November 1939 in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

, London, and was buried in

Plumstead Cemetery Plumstead Cemetery is a cemetery in Plumstead, southeast London. It is situated south-east of Woolwich, to the north of Wickham Lane, west of Lodge Hill, and south of Bostall Wood. The cemetery was opened in 1890 by Woolwich Burial Board in f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Henry John 1867 births 1939 deaths Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Woolwich British cooperative organizers