[1] He enlivened the passing-out ceremony of December 1897 at the training ship HMS Britannia by dancing the hornpipe with cadets Reginald Watkins Grubb and Cuthbert Dixon Longstaff.
In 1900 he was a midshipman on the cruiser HMS Orlando at the China Station during the Boxer Rebellion when he was set ashore with dispatches for Peking.
[7] Robinson was Captain in Charge at Singapore from 1921 to 1923[8] and was appointed the command of the light cruiser HMS Constance in December 1924.
He was in command of the newly converted aircraft carrier HMS Courageous from 1931 to 1932[10] and was promoted Rear-Admiral on 5 January 1933 before retiring at his own request in 1934.
At the commencement of World War II Robinson was recalled to duty as a Commodore (Second Class) and was appointed second-in-command of the Naval Air Stations between 1940 and 1943 and was Flag Officer Air Stations for the remainder of the War[11] before being placed back on the retired list in August 1945.