[1] He was born in Elstree, Hertfordshire, the youngest child of Kitty, an administrator at the Bank of England, and Wilfred Wadley, an accountant for the Royal Air Force (RAF).
He did National Service in the RAF, and graduated in art history at the Courtauld Institute in London in 1961.
He was a friend of Stefan and Franciszka Themerson and an admirer of their work, on which he wrote extensively.
He later married Franciszka Themerson's niece, Jasia Reichardt.
After his retirement, Wadley became an illustrator and published many cartoons and drawings