He was born in Macedon to farmer David Bowen Wiltshire and Miriam Andrews.
He was a mechanical engineer, and served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1940 to 1945 as a fitter.
On 26 April 1941, he married Doris Lorraine Hore, and they had two children.
On his return from war service, he ran a garage until 1949, when he became a real estate agent at Dandenong.
In 1955, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the Liberal and Country Party member for Dandenong.