Career
His father was a herdsman from Aberdeenshire. James and John were inspired to join the local athletics club by watching the 1908 Olympic marathon race that passed nearby their home. Later, when World War I broke out, John enlisted to the army and died from peritonitis in 1916, while James stayed at home earning his living as a metalworker.
After the 1920 Olympics he found a job as mechanical engineer at the Neasden Power Station, which provided electricity to the Metropolitan Railways, and semi-retired from running.
He resumed competing in 1923, when he joined Surrey Athletic Club, but never regained his past shape and retired for good in 1925. Wilson was married to Annie Williams.
He died from a bowel cancer aged 81–82.