He has an upper-middle-class background; his uncle was a peer of the realm, his father had a career in the City of London, and Wilson often recalls fond memories of his nanny.

[3] The final episode reveals Wilson to have reached the rank of captain in the Middlesex Regiment whilst serving in the First World War.

It is gossip in Walmington-on-Sea, as both arrived in Walmington from Weston-super-Mare around the same time, and there are other "coincidences" that show Wilson and Mrs Pike are more than just close friends, such as them unofficially living together.

In "Getting the Bird" it is revealed that Wilson has an adult daughter from an early marriage whom he paid to attend a good school and who is serving during the war in the Women's Royal Naval Service.

Wilson's Little Secret" a misunderstanding leads to him nearly marrying Mrs Pike (indicating that he has divorced his previous wife) but he apparently calls it off at the last moment.

Wilson even manages to charm Mrs. Mainwaring (albeit over the telephone, as she is never seen on screen), telling her "we understand him, don't we" in reference to her husband.

When it comes to women, Wilson is especially debonair, effortlessly flirting and attracting the attention of women, often to the exasperation of Mainwaring, who detests Wilson's flirtatious manner (such as when he is flirting with Mainwaring's nurse, some of the ladies signing up to join the Home Guard, or even the young woman serving drinks at a social event).

In the episode "Man Hunt", Wilson asks an attractive young woman to let him come in and look at her knickers, when it is suspected they may have been made of material from a German pilot's parachute (as a result of one of Walker's many black market schemes); in response to this request, the young woman eagerly agrees and invites Wilson inside.

Wilson undermines his superior through casual charm and frequent concern at Mainwaring's plans, querying, "Do you really think that's wise, sir?"

", Wilson reminds Mainwaring that when he first wore his captain's uniform, he saw him walking up and down the high street all afternoon trying to find someone to salute him, but he had to make do with a sea scout troop.

During this time, they bond over their shared danger; at one point Mainwaring even scratches Wilson's nose for him when he develops a maddening itch.

In the final episode, Wilson turns up at the wedding of Jones and Mrs Fox in a captain's uniform, having achieved the rank during the First World War.

[8] He is modest about it (in the first episode Wilson claims to have been a sergeant in the Royal Artillery serving at Mons, Passchendaele and Gallipoli) and Mainwaring is pleasantly surprised – although he insisted that "it doesn't change anything, you know."