William May (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Henry May GCB GCVO (1849–1930) was a Royal Navy Officer who went on to be Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel.

Naval career
May was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy. He joined the Royal Navy in 1863. He served on the Arctic expedition of 1875 to 1876 and was appointed a naval attaché in 1891.

He was appointed Rear Admiral and Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes in 1901 and then Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy later in the year. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet in 1905 and Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in 1907. In 1909 he took command of the Home Fleet with HMS Africa (1905) as his flagship. Later in the year he became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. He served in World War I and in 1916 was appointed to the Dardanelles Commission. He retired in 1919.