McNair-Wilson was born in
Camden, London on 28 May 1929, the son of Robert McNair-Wilson. He was educated at
Eton College and was commissioned in the
Coldstream Guards from 1947 to 1952, serving in
Palestine and
North Africa. From 1951 to 1953, he was an executive at the French Shipping Company. He joined the staff of
Conservative Central Office in 1954, working for them until 1958. He became a director of the
London Municipal Society in 1961, remaining in the role until 1963. In the same period, he was editor of
The Londoner. He was also a broadcaster. McNair-Wilson was the
member of parliament for
Lewisham West from 1964 until he lost the seat to
Labour in
1966. He then won the
1968 by-election in the
New Forest constituency, representing this
safe Conservative seat until his retirement in 1997. == Personal life and death ==