James Robinson was born in Nudgee, Queensland in 1888. He became a teacher in 1909. On 15 May 1915 he was appointed lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force and embarked with the 26th Battalion. He rose to the rank of Lt Colonel and commanding officer of the 26th Battalion, and received the DSO. After the war he returned to his position on the staff of the Queensland Teachers College. He was a member of the University of Queensland Senate from 1953 to 1960. In 1966 he was awarded an M.B.E. He died in Queensland in 1971.