His birth:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Births Dec 1872   (>99%)
Clay Ernest Charles Burton 6b 363
_________________________

In 1901 he was a barrister-at-law, living at a, possibly superior, lodging house in St George’s Hanover Square.

In 1902 he got married:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Jun 1902
Clay Ernest Charles Kensington 1a 287   
PRESS Dorothy Mary Kensington 1a 287
________________________

In 1911 he and his wife, who said she had only ever had one child, were living in Banstead, Surrey with one daughter:

Name Relation Condition/ Yrs married Sex Age Birth Year  Occupation  Where Born

CLAY, Ernest Charles Head Married M 38 1873 Barrister-At-Law  Stapenhill Derbyshire
CLAY, Dorothy Mary Wife Married  8 years F 37 1874  Clifton Gloucestershire
CLAY, Rosemary Arden Daughter F 2 1909 Banstead Surrey
CAMBRIDGE, Florence Mary Servant Single F 30 1881   Nurse Domestic  London, Camberwell
FISHER, Marian Jubilee Servant Single F 24 1887   Parlourmaid Domestic  Polebrook, Northampton
NICHOLAS, Gladys Gwendoline Servant Single F 18  1893  Cook Domestic  Matherne, Monmouthshire

RG number: RG14 Piece: 2939 Reference: RG14PN2939 RG78PN101 RD31 SD1 ED17 SN168

Registration District: Epso
Sub District: Carshalto
EnumerationDistrict: 17
Parish: Banstead

Address: Stanemore Court Road Banstead
County: Surrey
______________________

In 1915 there was a probable additional birth of a son:

Surname First name(s) Mother District Vol Page
Births Jun 1915
Clay Henry A P Press Chepstow 11a 4

But why was it at Chepstow?  Because of the war?

In 1918 a Major Ernest Charles Clay was made OBE, being “D.A.A.G., War Office”.  Dunno if this was him.  In the 1911 census he was the only Ernest Charles Clay to have been of the right age.  The other two were 4 years old or less.

There was only one marriage on FreeBMD after 1901 that was between a Clay and a Press and this was his, so I think Hanry has to be his.

TFPL, 2016: The last sentence had a true premise but a false conclusion.  There was an earlier Clay to Press marriage:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Mar 1897   (>99%)
Clay Charles Leigh Barton R. 6a 163
Press Margaret Amelia Barton R. 6a 163

Barton Regis is in Gloucestershire and Chepstow is not far from there.  In fact their household was in the 1911 census for Chepstow and they had a daughter aged 9 and a son aged 6.

I wonder if I did this reseach before I had access to the 1911 census?

Thanks to Sue and Robin Clay for pointing this out to me.  Henry A P Clay has now been deleted from this database.  They also passed on that of these two Clay-Press marriages, the two Clays were 1st cousins and the two Presses were sisters.

They also confirmed that it was this Ernest that got the OBE and that he retired at a Lt-Col.
_______________________

Their marriage index:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Jun 1902   (>99%)
Clay Ernest Charles Kensington 1a 287
PRESS Dorothy Mary Kensington 1a 287
______________________