He was educated at Bancroft's School, Woodford, Essex,[1] then worked for the Eastern Telegraph Company in Cape Town[2] as a cable operator.
[3] When war broke out in 1914 he resigned his post and returned to UK, taking up a commission in the 12th Essex Regiment[2] as temporary Second Lieutenant on 11 November 1914.
[7] He then tried to get work as a journalist[2] and wrote articles for the Daily Mail under the name "Air Pilot",[6] and it was in this capacity that an unfortunate incident occurred which led to him being arrested and tried under the Defence of the Realm Act.
He was arrested and appeared at Dover magistrates court on 20 April where, despite pleading not guilty, he was committed for trial at Kent Assizes,[7] charged with "unlawfully attempting to elicit information with respect to the movements or disposition of His Majesty's forces (to wit, the Royal Naval Air Service) such as might be of value to the enemy.
[7] At his trial in Maidstone on 22 June he pleaded guilty, and the Lord Chief Justice dealt leniently with him on the basis that he was trying to work for the improvement of the Air Service, and he had no evil motive and was loyal to his country.
However, unlike the original, Middleton's play ends in court with the exoneration of the virtuous chauffeur and with Lady Aylesbrough exposed as a shameful perjurer.
[17] The play opened at the Globe Theatre in London in August 1927 with Jeanne de Casalis as Lady Aylesbrough and Paul Cavanagh as the accused chauffeur,[17] and one scene caused something of a stir when she appeared on stage in pyjamas.
[1] In the 1929 General Election he stood as candidate for the Liberal party in the Islington East constituency in London[24] and adopted a novel method of canvassing support by using the telephone to contact electors.
[29] However, despite sometimes being described as a misogynist,[9] in 1935 it was said of him: "Airman, author, journalist, playwright, politician, royal biographer, Edgar Middleton has possibly led a more varied career than any other man of his age.