He was listed as a clerk on his World War I attestation paper. Sworn into the 43rd Regiment on December 30, 1914. His middle name is spelled “Lorne” on this record on the front page, although it is corrected on the back. He also had previously served 2 years in Cadets. It mentions that he has a scar from an appendix operation, and that he was 5’9.5” tall, with light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a ruddy complexion.

His tombstone in Ottawa shows that he died in battle in World War I, at Flanders in Belgium. He is also at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium, where it shows that he was a Private with the Canadian Infantry, 14th Batallion (Quebec Regiment) and that his father was Mr. W.C. May of 155 Gilmour Street, Ottawa.

His death register card says that he was killed by shrapnel during an enemy counter attack at Mount Sorrel. It also says that his name appears on a large cross erected in the Railway Dugouts Cemetery.