Chilver was born in
Barking, Essex, to Amos Henry Chilver and his wife Annie E. Mack. After attending
Southend High School for Boys, he took up a place at the
University of Bristol, where he gained a BSc in Mechanical Engineering in 1947. He gained a PhD in Civil Engineering in 1951, and a DSc in 1962. Between 1961 and 1969, he was
Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering at
University College London. Between 1970 and 1989 he was Vice-Chancellor of
Cranfield University. In the early 1980s, he was Chairman of the
Northern Ireland Higher Education Review Group, which was tasked with producing a report called the Chilver Report on how to unify the
Initial teacher education (ITE) used in Northern Ireland. He was the Chairman of the
Post Office between 1980 and 1981. In 1983, he succeeded
Lord Campbell as Chairman of the
Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC). Between 1992 and 1995 he was Chairman of
English China Clays, and on 25 February 1993, he was appointed Chairman of
RJB Mining. He has also been a director of
ICI. ==Awards==