Robert was born in 1894, the son of George Alexander Albert Vanderzee (aka George Alexander), livery stable proprietor,  and wife, Annie, hotel licencee.  On his enlistment papers Robert states that he was born in East Melbourne.  A search of the Sands & McDougall Post Office directories for the period shows that the family then lived at 111 [now 490] Victoria Parade. His father ran a livery stables business behind the small, four roomed cottage.  About two years later he expanded the business and rented an old builder's yard behind 125 [now 470] Victoria Parade, and both premises were used interchangeably as livery stables and commission yards where he sold a wide variety of carriages, waggons, buggies and jinkers, as well as harnesses and the occasional horse or pony.   About ten years later the family lived at Kent Villa, 213 Victoria Parade [the site is now part of the Victoria and Albert Apartments].

Robert enlisted on 11 December 1914 and described himself as 'gentleman'.  He was not quite 21 and his mother signed the papers giving her consent to his enlistment, his father having died earlier, in 1906.  He spent just eleven days at the Showgrounds camp before embarking on 22 December 1914 aboard the Borda with the 2nd Veterinary Section.  Fire broke out in the bunkers on 26 December and was still going two days  later and  the decision was made to unload all 336 horses at Albany and camp them on the cricket ground.  The journey resumed on 3 January.  Many horses suffered from ring worm and some from pneumonia, at least two died.  The ship arrived at Alexandria on 3 February and the men and horses left by train for Cairo the same day to travel to Abbassia Camp.

Vanderzee was transferred to the 4th MobileVet Section on 23 March 1916.  The unit was stationed at Serapaeum until June when it proceeded to France via Alexandria to work in the Ypres region.  He was from time to time detached to work with other units including 1st Mobile Vet Section.  He suffered several trips to hospital with a variety of complaints from conjunctivitis to contused sides.  He embarked for Australia from Italy on 18 October 1918.  However he appears then to have spent time in Egypt at the 1st Australian Vet Station, departing Suez  on 15 December and arriving Melbourne on 27 January 1919.  He was discharged two months later, medically unfit, disability not stated.