Born at Castlerock, Co Derry on 26 July 1887, the son of William McCarter JP, he was educated at schools in northern Ireland and entered Trinity College, Dublin in 1906. He was senior moderator (first in the first class) in natural sciences and won the gold medal at the BA degree examination in 1910

Robert Allez Rotherham Wallace, the elder child and only son of Robert Wallace and Amelia (née Rotherham), was born on 2 November 1888 at Queenscliffe, Victoria, Australia. After early education at Melbourne Grammar School he had architectural training at Perth Technical School and worked as a junio