Unpublished manuscripts: 'Sounding the Lead Line' n.d.; 'Henry Constantine Jennings' n.d.; 'The Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean, 1650-1725' two volumes, n.d.

Carbon copies of printed items: 'Narratives of Navigation' 1965-1979; 'Backwaters of Naval History' 1952-1984, three volumes; 5 loose prints, circa 1971.

Notes on various subjects: compass notes, circa 1939-1951; compass extracts, n.d.; articles on the subject of the compass, 1948-1979.

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Administrative / biographical background
Commander W E May was a leading authority on the history and use of the compass. He was a founder member of the Royal Institute of Navigation and one of its first fellows. He joined the Royal Navy in 1912, being second in command of one of the gun turrets of HMS TEMERAIRE at the battle of Jutland. In 1923, he qualified as a navigating officer. He left the active list of the Royal Navy in 1927 and thereafter was engaged in various duties concerning compasses. During the latter part of World War II he was responsible for all repairs to gyrocompasses throughout the Royal Navy. In 1951 Commander May was appointed Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum and held the post until his retirement in 1968. See also MAA collection.