Roy Campbell McDowall was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand. After completing his BA(Hons) at the University of Auckland, he moved to Canberra in 2006.

In June 2007 he successfully completed a Master of Arts (Strategic Studies) in the Graduate Studies in Strategy and Defence program at The Australian National University.

In 2009 he is commencing a PhD at The Australian National University, examining Indonesia in Australia’s defence planning under the supervision of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.