Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Holland, Alec John

1918 – 17 November 1985

Born in Buckinghamshire, Alec Holland was raised on the Exbury Estate, on the Solent shore, where his father was groom to the de Rothschilds.  His mother died when he was eleven and he was brought up by his father, elder brother and sister-in-law.  Financial help from the Rothschilds enabled him to attend grammar school in Southampton and go on to university there, in 1937.

His studies were interrupted by World War II and he served at sea from 1939 to 1945.  With the end of hostilities, he was able to return to university, obtaining his degree in 1946.  The following year he became a master at King Edward VI School in the city.

His war service and history degree were the essential foundations for what was to become a life-long study of the maritime history of southern Hampshire and in 1961 he was awarded an MA for his research into 18th century shipbuilding in the county.

In 1962, Alec Holland became Curator of the Buckler’s Hard Maritime Museum and, from 1979 to 1984, he was also part-time archivist at Palace House.  Buckler’s Hard formed the focus of his last book*, published shortly before his death. His other titles included Ships of British Oak, The Age of Industrial Expansion and Trade and Communications.

He was also a founder member and chairman of the Society for Nautical Research, renowned for his lectures on and guided tours of the ancient ports, harbours and shipyards of the Solent.

Sources

Society for Nautical Research obituary (M D A Lee). Sleeve notes (1985).  A Portrait of Alec Through his Writings – a family memoir (2015).

Portrait

Contribution to county’s history

A maritime historian, with an unrivalled knowledge of the Solent region and a particular interest in Buckler’s Hard, Beaulieu and Exbury.

Relevant published works

• Holland A & de Rothschild E Our Exbury: Life in an English Village in the 1920s and early 30s.

• Holland A J (1968) The Age of Industrial Expansion

• Holland A (1971) Ships of British Oak: Rise and Decline of Wooden Shipbuilding in Hampshire.

• Holland A J (1972) Trade and Communications

• Holland A J (1985) Buckler’s Hard: A Rural Shipbuilding Centre

  *  In 2015 the family published a memoir in his name – composed mainly of his poetry.

Critical Comments

Other Comments

Contributor

Dave Allen, Roger Ottewill, September 2023

Key Words

Buckler’s Hard, Beaulieu, Maritime history, Shipbuilding, Exbury

Any queries or further suggestions for this part of the list should be addressed to celebrating@hantsfieldclub.org.uk.

Back to Historians G-H from Gallup, Peter to Hudson, William Henry