Nield studied at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and fought in the Second World War before he joined the Civil Service in 1946.
[1] He spent two years as a deputy secretary at the Cabinet Office (1966–68) before returning to the DEA as Permanent Secretary in 1968; it was a short-lived appointment for the department was abolished the following year.
[2] Nield then joined the Cabinet Office as Second Permanent Secretary (1969–72)[2] with responsibility for "coordinating the advice given to Ministers on matters arising from the British application to the Common Market";[3] he was responsible for reopening negotiations to join the European Communities, which the UK eventually did in 1973.
[2] Nield's final appointment in the civil service was to be Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office (1972–73); he was responsible for advising the government on the nature of direct rule.
After retiring from the civil service in 1973, he was Deputy Chairman of Rolls-Royce (1972) Ltd from 1973 to 1975.