The life of Arthur May is a difficult one to uncover. Born in Aylesford, Kent, in the summer of 1879, he was baptised on 10th August, and only his mother’s name – Eliza May – recorded.

There is a record of an Arthur May from Aylesford in the 1881 census, but that gives his mother’s name as Ann (and the father’s as labourer William May). Twenty years later, the same Arthur may is listed as boarding with his sister and brother-in-law’s family in Halling, Kent, where he was working as a labourer in the local cement works. Again, however, it is impossible to confirm that this Arthur May is the one being sought.

Further records identify Arthur’s wife as a woman called Annie, although no marriage records remain to confirm a union.

Details of Private May’s war service is pretty limited, but he seems to have enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment in February 1917. He subsequently transferred to the 167th Coy Labour Corps and was sent to France, but returned to Britain a month later, having fallen ill. His condition turned out to be tuberculosis and he was medically discharged from the army in August 1917.

Private May’s medical report adds some tantalising detail to his military service. He is recorded as being 39 years and one month old, 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, with a pale complexion, blue eye and light brown hair. He had a tattoo on his left forearm and was working as a labourer, while living in Ditton, near Maidstone, in Kent.

The report also suggests that Arthur had initially enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in November 1915. It notes that he was frequently disabled with shortness of breath and a cough during his fourteen months with the navy.

Arthur returned home after his discharge. While his trail goes cold, it is likely that his lung condition continued to dog his civilian life. On 6th July 1919, he passed away and, although no cause is freely recorded, as there is a lack of comment in contemporary local newspapers, illness would be a possible cause. He was 40 years of age.

Arthur May was laid to rest in the graveyard of his local church, St Peter’s & St Paul’s in Aylesford, Kent.

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