Robert Robertson was born in Perth, Scotland on 9 July 1866. He gained practical experience working for the Perth contracting firm Pullar & Perito from 1883 to 1886 before being articled to John Russell Walker (1847-1891) in Edinburgh from 1886 to 1890. He then moved to London where he worked as an assistant to George Baines (1852-1934) in 1891-92. In 1892 he began his long association with the London County Council Architects Department, first as an assistant, then chief assistant, and finally as Chief Assistant Architect and Director of Housing Construction, a post he held from 1919 until his retirement in 1931.
Robertson was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1930.
His address was given as 45 St. Mary's Mansions, Paddington, London in 1930. He died in 1939
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 157, 22 December 1939 p.858