William Holland was born on 26th June 1921 in Gravesend, Kent. His father was Edward Holland, a Clerk, and his mother was Elizabeth Maud (née Rayner). The first school that he attended was St Joseph’s School in Gravesend.
In 1929 William Holland joined The County School for Boys – now known as Gravesend Grammar School. The Head Master at that time was the Reverend Samuel Lister. The County School for Boys was located in Darnley Road, Gravesend close to the Railway Station (now the Victoria Centre for Education). In 1938 the School moved to brand new premises in Church Walk, Milton, Gravesend opposite to Milton Church.
The School’s Admission Register lists William’s address as 48 Whitehill Road, Gravesend. Whilst at the School, William was in Hill House. Older brothers Edward (born 1913) and Philip (born 1915) also attended the School.
In 1937 William left the School and started work as an Electrical Engineering Apprentice. He volunteered for service in July 1940, enlisting in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserves, becoming a Sergeant, Service Number 1257890 and joining 106 Squadron, based at RAF Finningly.
William Holland was killed in action on his first operational flight on 22nd January 1942, when he failed to return from mining operations off the Friesian Islands. He was 19 years of age. He is remembered at Runnymede Memorial, Panel 86.

There are links below to Newspaper Clippings and Photographs from the Gravesend Grammar School Archives.
Below are links to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and a few other websites that might be of interest:
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1800345/holland,-william/
http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=81774