Robert was born in Glasgow, Scotland, Scotland on April 16th, 1890. He learned to fly in Toronto and joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915. During World War I he flew anti-submarine patrols over the North Sea. By the end of the war, he was a wing commander in the Royal Air Force.
Between the wars, he directed flying operations for the Canadian Air Board, and oversaw the creation of mail and passenger air service throughout Canada. He later returned to the RAF, and by 1940 commanded the British Air Forces in the Mediterranean Sea from Malta.
As the war expanded later that year, Leckie returned to Canada to take charge of training operations in Canada for the RAF. In 1942 he transferred to the Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In 1944 he became Chief of Air Staff, and was promoted to Air Marshall. He died in Ottawa on March 31, 1975.