Edgar Charles Middleton

Edgar Charles William Middleton (26 November 1894 – 10 April 1939) was a British playwright and author.

Biography

He was educated at Bancroft's School, Woodford, Essex, then worked for the Eastern Telegraph Company in Cape Town as a cable operator.

Military service

When war broke out in 1914 he resigned his post and returned to UK, taking up a commission in the 12th Essex Regiment as temporary Second Lieutenant on 11 November 1914. He relinquished his commission on 5 May 1915 to transfer into the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), where he was given a probationary commission as Flight Sub-Lieutenant. He trained and qualified in ballooning at Roehampton and observed the second bombardment of Ypres from an observation balloon. However, he became ill when in Dunkirk and suffered a "serious mental breakdown". He received a letter from the Admiralty, dated 15 December 1915, stating that he had been found unsuitable for the Air Service and terminating his appointment.

Journalist

He then tried to get work as a journalist and wrote articles for the Daily Mail under the name "Air Pilot", 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. On 12 April 1916, Middleton visited Dover and met up with former colleagues in the RNAS, telling them, "I have come to Dover to do a bit of spying for Pemberton Billing". He asked whether officers still lived about two miles from the aerodrome and had to travel there each meal time. 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, 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." He was released on bail. 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. He was bound over in the sum of £25.