Walter S Stiles earned his B.Sc. in 1920 from University College London. After graduation, he stayed there as junior Demonstrator in Physics for two years. In 1922, he enrolled at St. John’s College at Cambridge to study mathematics, but stayed only a brief time and did not complete a degree. Instead, he joined the Municipal College, Portsmouth as a lecturer in physics and math, again staying only a brief time. He then joined the Royal Naval Signal School as a Junior Scientific Officer. This was his last short-lived position, leaving in 1925 to join the National Physical Laboratory for the rest of his career.

He was elected to the Royal Society in 1955. In 1965, he received OSA’s Edgar D. Tillyer Award. Other awards include the Newton medal of the Color Group of Great Britain, the Gold Medal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, and the Prix Niels Finsen.

He passed away in 1985.