[1][2][3] Brindley studied at University of Manchester in the laboratory of Sir Lawrence Bragg and Reginald W. James, where he obtained an BSc and an MSc in crystallography in 1928.
Until 1945, his research focused on X-ray scattering in metals and its use in studying their lattice vibration and mechanical deformation phenomena.
Brindley is known for the works on crystal structure determination for the classes of minerals kaolinite, dickite, halloysite, serpentine, and chlorite.
Brindley received the Roebling Medal in 1970 from the Mineralogical Society of America for his work on clay minerals.
They had two children, S. Peter Brindley of Auckland, New Zealand, and Karin Patricia Milstrey of Denver, Colorado.