His father had translated the Bible into Sinhala, and his younger brother Hugh Blackwell Layard Dowbiggin was born in Ceylon.
During Dowbiggin's tenure of office in Sri Lanka, the strength of the force was enhanced considerably, and the posts of two deputy inspectors general were also created.
Engelbrecht, a member of the Afrikaner diaspora who worked as wildlife officer in Yala, was unjustly jailed in 1914 for allegedly having supplied meat to the German light cruiser SMS Emden.
Facing the riot of 1915 which broke out between Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslim Ceylon Moors, he authorized the use of draconian measures, including summary execution, flogging, and imprisonment.
[6][7] E. W. Perera, a lawyer from Kotte, braved mine- and submarine-infested seas (as well as the police) along with George E. de Silva to carry a secret memorial initiated and drafted by Sir James Peiris in the soles of his shoes to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, pleading for the repeal of martial law and describing atrocities claimed to have been committed by the police led by Dowbiggin.
A public meeting was organised on 10 January by a committee, including Mark Anthony Bracegirdle of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, to condemn 'the bloodstained record' of Dowbiggin as IGP of Ceylon, to mark 'the victims of police brutality and terrorism of 1915' and to condemn 'the betrayal of the Ceylonese nation by Sir Baron Jayatilaka... in attempting to identify the nation with an appreciation of Sir Dowbiggin’s [sic] services.'