General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Reginald Seaburne May, (10 August 1879 – 26 October 1958) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served as

Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply ...

Military career

Educated at Haileybury,Obituary: Sir Reginald May
The Times, 28 October 1958 May was commissioned into the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

as a second lieutenant on 3 August 1898, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 2 August 1899.Hart′s Army list, 1903 He served with the 2nd Battalion in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, where he took part in the battles of Colenso (December 1899), engagements at Pieter's Hill, Hussar Hill and Hlangwani and the

Relief of Ladysmith The Relief of Ladysmith consisted of multiple efforts to relieve the city of Ladysmith by General Sir Redvers Buller during the Second Boer War. Buller and the Natal Field Force attempted to relieve the city through multiple offensive actions ...

(February 1900); and later served in the Western Transvaal under Sir

Archibald Hunter General Sir Archibald Hunter, (6 September 1856 – 28 June 1936) was a senior officer in the British Army who distinguished himself during the Boer War. He was Governor of Omdurman, in Sudan, and later of Gibraltar. Early life Archibald Hunt ...

. May stayed in South Africa until the end of the war, and returned home on the SS ''Assaye'' in September 1902. For his service in the war he was noted for future promotion, which followed the next year when he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 3 November 1903, with the brevet rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

from the next day. In January 1907 he became an officer in command of a company of gentlemen cadets at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. May later served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war he became Director of Movements and then, from 1923, Director of Recruiting and Organisation at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. He was made

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in charge of Administration at Northern Command in 1927 and then

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the

49th (West Riding) Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divi ...

in 1930. He was appointed Commandant of the Royal Military College Sandhurst in 1931 and

in 1935; he retired in 1939. In retirement he was

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is a registered charity and an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the Royal Corps of Signals#History, signals spelling alphabet#History, spelling alpha ...

Christian movement for ten years. He also served as colonel of the

Family

In 1906 May married Marguerite Geraldine Ramsay Drake and together they had three sons. Then in 1932 he married Jane Monteith.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Reginald 1879 births 1958 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Fusiliers officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Commandants of Sandhurst War Office personnel in World War II Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst