Painter, constructor of abstract reliefs, printmaker, draughtsman and teacher, born in Berlin, Germany, as Fleischmann, adopting the surname Midgley after the family who took him in in Manchester. Midgley had a tough childhood in Germany in an orphanage, attending the Berlin Art School before arriving in England for a period of internment in the Isle of Man. He was released into the care of two painters who found him a place at Beckenham School of Art, 1947–51, attended Royal College of Art, 1951–3, winning a travelling scholarship to Rome, 1953–4. In 1955 Midgley began teaching at Beckenham School of Art, becoming a tutor at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, 1966–86. He was elected to Society of Mural Painters in 1956, joining the Chartered Society of Designers in 1958.