Robert William George Ogle DSO [1] was born on 21 November 1904 at Georgetown, Newcastle the son of Robert William Ogle, a locally born blacksmith, and his English wife Edith Alice (nee Kempster). He was educated at Newcastle High School and Sydney Technical College. He undertook an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering before commencing as a draughtsman with NSW Government Railways and Tramways. On 21 February 1931 he married Hazel Jean Matilda Golding a Stenographer at the Methodist Church Waratah, Newcastle.
From 1920 Ogle had served in the Citizen Military Forces rising to be a temporary lieutenant colonel. Although in a restricted occupation he volunteered for overseas military service and was appointed a major in the Australian Imperial Force in 1940. As part of the 2/15th Battalion he served at Tobruk and El Alamein. He rose to be a Lieutenant Colonel was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was twice mentioned in despatches.
Following the war he returned to Southern Electricity Supply as a distribution engineer in Cootamundra in January 1946. He commenced with the Electricity Commission in Sydney from 1950 and was instrumental in establishing a State wide grid. He retired in 1965.
After relocating to Sydney he and his wife moved to Beecroft.
Ogle and his wife were childless and he devoted his time to the junior welfare activities of Sydney Legacy.
He died in Beecroft on 28 January 1981. He was survived by his wife.
[1] The information in this biography largely derives from the Australian Dictionary of Biography (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2012) vol 18