 Hobbiss was born in Birmingham on 8 February 1880, the eldest son of Henry Hobbiss, a school master and later a lecturer in a teaching college, and his wife, Alice.In 1914 Hobbiss won a national competition (and 25 guineas prize) for his design of agricultural workers cottages in Essex.During the First World War, he served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery.