Educated at Whiteinch Primary School, Victoria Drive Secondary School in Scotstoun (closed in 1998, quickly flattened and in 2007 new flats under construction!) then Glasgow College of Nautical Studies.
Facinated by radio from an early age, Robert discovered two different aspects of radio through scanning the short-wave bands of the house broadcast receiver and which continue to be his avid interests. First was Christian Radio broadcasting, which came about through picking up the programme "Scottish Focus", made by the Glasgow-based group Gospel Radio Fellowship (now GRF Christian Radio), which was being broadcast from radio station HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, all the way from Quito in Equador, South America. The second was amateur radio, introduced through stumbling across old a.m. transmissions on the 7MHz Amateur band - this led to Robert gaining his Amateur Radio licence in February 1970, callsign GM3ZDH. Today Robert is still active on the amateur bands and heavily involved with Christian radio station Revival FM
On
completing education Robert, in 1972, joined the GPO's Wireless Telegraphy
Section, being posted to their Coastal Radio Station Wick Radio,
callsign GKR, in Caithness. In 1977 he then moved to become manager
of
Oban Radio/GNE. In 1980 promotion took him back to Glasgow,
seconded to the Department of Transport's Marine Office as Radio Surveyor
for the West of Scotland. Being involved in electronic communications,
it was fairly natural to move into the area of the Internet. Having
developed his own Internet presence in 1995, in 1997 Robert took on the task
of developing his department's Intranet presence on the BT Intranet - one
of the biggest intranet's in Europe. This in turn led to
Robert taking early retirement from BT in 2000 in order to develop his own
Internet Consultancy.
Having met Mari when both were on seaside mission at Montrose with Scripture Union in 1971, Robert & Mari were married in 1973. Son number 1, Melville, came along in April 1977 in the middle of moving from Wick to Oban. Son number 2, Robin, popped out in October 1981 not long after moving to the village of Carmunnock. Robert & Mari now live in East Kilbride.