 Holland was born in Sutton, Surrey, the second son of the publisher Sir Edward John Holland, and was educated at Charterhouse School and at Hertford College, Oxford, (BA, BCL).He was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1927, and practised mainly at the Chancery bar.During World War II, he served in the British Army, rising to the rank of Brigadier and serving as the Deputy Director of Personal Services at the War Office.