Robert Gilder was born in Hanley, Staffordshire on 7th July 1936. At ten, he began studying at New College Choir Schol in Oxford. He completed school at Epsom College in Surrey, after which he moved with his parents to Toronto.

In Toronto he began a pre-clinical course at the university, however he decided to switch to an arts degree course. On graduation he worked as a medical photographer at the Ontario Cancer Institute. Five years later, after moving back to English, he passed the IIP Final Examination in Medical Photography and was appointed to the post of Senior Medical Photographer at Guy's Hospital, London. He moved to Newcastle in 1965 and started working as deputy to C. J. Duncan in the Department of Photography and Teaching Aids Laboratory.

In 1970 Gilder and his family moved back to Toronto, where he was appointed as Producer in the Division of Instructional Media Services in the University Faculty of Medicine. A series of promotions led to him being appointed Director of the Film and Television Section in 1973. In Toronto, Robert became involved in a substantial amount of committee work but he also found time to lecture in the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine, and in Medical Education.

The family moved back to England again when Robert was appointed as Director of the Audio Visual Centre in Newcastle in 1980.

In 1986 he became Chairman of the Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration, after which he completed two years as Chairman of the Educational Television Association.

He died following long-term illness in 1991.