William Glen Dobie was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England in c.1866 and was articled to James Rhind (1844?-1903) in Liverpool from 1882 to 1886. He also took classes at the Liverpool Architectural Society.
Dobie qualified as an architect in 1892 and subsequently practised as an architect in Liverpool until 1956. He was in partnership with Sidney Pelham Morter (1869-1933) and later Morter's son, Philip Sidney Pelham Morter (1905-1980), and his own son William Harrower Glen Dobie (1905-1991) as Morter & Dobie. The partnership was dissolved in 1946.
Dobie was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1892, and a Fellow of the British Architects (FRIBA) in 1925.
His address was given as The Temple, 24, Dale Street, Liverpool in 1905 and 1950; 11 Rumford Street, Liverpool in 1950 and 1956; and Braehead, Poplar Road, Birkenhead in 1957. He died on 27 March 1957
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001