He read mechanical sciences at Pembroke College, Cambridge, playing for the university at both golf and cricket, before his studies were interrupted in 1940.
Called up for military service, he joined the Royal Engineers and became a captain, taking part in the Normandy landings as a member of the Guards Armoured Division.
Wilford spent part of his career working in the private offices of five[1] Foreign Secretaries,[3] including Selwyn Lloyd from 1959 to 1960.
After working as private secretary to Edward Heath, then Lord Privy Seal, he was posted to Rabat in 1962, followed by Beijing, Hong Kong and Washington.
[1] In 1944, Wilford married Joan Law, a wireless operator at the Women's Royal Naval Service.