Arthur W. Wayne was the son of two Eastern European Jews who met and married in Scotland. He was a professional engineer, musician (he was a famous concert pianist), broadcasting star, and contributor to popular electronics publication "Wireless World." He was also a mathematician, and in his youth in London’s East End had been both a racing motorcyclist and a champion wrestler.

He was a keen amateur scientist, and had taken an interest in the developing field of electronics in its early days. During World War II he became a full-time electronics engineer. Post-war he worked as a consultant in the field of acoustics, before setting up Shirley Laboratories Ltd., in Worthing in 1954. He used his expertise in engineering, music and acoustics to build high-end and high-quality sound-reproduction electronic equipment, in particular amplifiers, radio tuners and electronic instruments which he mostly designed and built himself. Shirely Laboratories' most successful product was the TWA I5I5/D amplifier. The company ceased operation in the early 1970s.