William Waldegrave Pelham Clay (1760-1822), British Army soldier and officer, was the second son of William Clay and Jemima Pelham of Southwell, England. Between 1777 and 1779, Clay rose from ensign to lieutenant-colonel in the 40th Regiment of Foot. He served in the West Indies on board the HMS Sultan and took part in the attack of Fort Griswold in New London, Connecticut, on September 6, 1781. He was stationed in New York until the British evacuation in November 1783, when he returned to England. His next assignments were in the West Indies, where he rose through the ranks from major in 1795 to lieutenant colonel in 1799. He was sent to the Mediterranean in 1800 and 1801 and was appointed inspecting field-officer of a recruiting district in Ireland in November 1804. In 1808 he was promoted to colonel, and in 1811 to major general stationed at British the West Indies, at Antigua and Trinidad, until 1815.
Clay married Catherine Charlotte around 1789; they had six children. He died in 1822.
From the guide to the Waldegrave Pelham Clay orderly books, Clay, Waldegrave Pelham orderly books, 1800-1815, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
