John Wilfred Wilson was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England on 2 April 1885 and studied at the Birmingham Municipal and Technical Schools from 1902. he worked as an assistant in the Engineers' Office Building Department, King's Norton and Northfield. He commenced independent practice as an architect in Sutton Coldfield in 1908.
Wilson was employed by William Borough Hill in Southampton from 1911 to 1914 and in Cromer, Sheringham and Norwich from 1914 to 1916. After working as architect to the Austin Motor Company from 1916 to 1920, he moved to China where he was worked for Algar & Co. from 1921 to 1927. he then returned to England and was in private practice in Birmingham from 1927. From 1945 to 1952 he was architect to the Dunlop Rubber Company. His address was given as 27 Beech Hill Road, Sutton Coldfield in 1939. He died in Warwick, Warwickshire on 3 February 1954