Educated at Portsmouth Grammar School,[1] Chilton joined the Royal Air Force in 1924.
[2] In 1943 he became Station Commander at RAF Chivenor where his role was to harry U-boats sailing in the Eastern Atlantic.
[1] After the war he was made Air Officer Commanding AHQ Ceylon before becoming Director of Personal Services in 1949 and Air Officer Commanding RAF Gibraltar in 1952.
[2] His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Coastal Command in 1959 before retiring in 1962.
[1] Following the death of his first wife he married Joyce Cornforth (née Fenwick) in 1964.