Lotbiniere was the second son of Brigadier-General Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière (1868–1960) D.S.O., and his wife Mildred Louisa, daughter of Charles Seymour Grenfell J.P., of Carshalton.
His grandfather, Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière (1829–1908), was Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec, a federal cabinet minister, and Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia.
De Lotbiniere introduced modern methods of commentary, dispensing with the dependence on maps and grids published in the Radio Times to assist the listener.
In addition to sporting events, de Lotbiniere was also in charge of the embryonic televising of the 1937 Coronation of King George VI.
In 1968, shortly before his retirement, Lotbiniere bought back Brandon Hall, Suffolk, which had originally been purchased by his father after service with the Canadian Army in World War I and sold after his death in 1960.