During the First World War, he served as a Captain in the 5th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on the Somme in 1917. He is mentioned several times in the book by Christopher Thomas Atkinson, "The Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment-1914 to 1919", published in 1924 in London.

The following compiled biographical information was mostly furnished by the Royal Institute of British Architects; London, and which is now in my personal possession.

Robert (aka Robin) Stanley Cobb was born March 11, 1890; the son of Arthur S. Cobb and Margaret Ritchie Cassels. Arthur was a banker and published author of two books on British economics.

Robert began studying Architecture as early as 1907 as an apprentice in London. Following graduation from Dulwich College, he immigrated to Argentina. There he worked as an architectural assistant in Buenos Aires from 1911-1914, when he returned to England for military service.

During the First World War he served as a Captain in the Royal West Kent Regiment, and participated in the Gallipoli and Palestine campaigns before being sent to France. During service he was severely wounded, and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on the Somme in 1917.

Following the war he obtained a position in the Colonial Office and posted to Kiambu in the Central Province of Kenya. In 1924, he was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1930, he was made a full member.

During the Second World War he attained the rank of Major while serving with the Occupied Territories Administration in Asmara. The end of the war found him in England; but he returned to Kenya with his family in 1945 to continue his professional career in architecture. He designed a number of the larger post-war buildings in East Africa.

Partly for health reasons and to continue the education of his children, he returned to England in 1951; and retired the following year. The last seven years of his life were spent in or near Oxford. He became a member of the Parish Council of Kidlington and was elected to the Urban District Council. He died April 3, 1959.

Obituary; The Builder; April 10, 1959: "The death has occurred of Mr. Robert Stanley Cobb, MB, FRIBA, founder of the firm of Cobb, Archer, and Scammell, architects, of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kampala, Aden, and Dar-es-Salaam. Among the buildings he designed in East Africa are Government House, Mombasa, and the Town Hall and Barclays Bank in Nairobi. Mr. Cobb served with the British Administration in Eritrea as Director of Transport and Assistant Director of Public Works. He returned to this country in 1951 and made his home in Oxford, moving later to Kidlington. He is survived by a widow and two children."