Algernon Charles Holland (10 February 1919 – 2001) was a British businessman, and the founder of

Amplifon Amplifon SpA is an Italian company based in Milan and the world's largest hearing aid retailer. History Amplifon was founded in 1950 in Milan by Algernon Charles Holland, a former official of the British special forces, involved in the Italian ...

, a company that supplies

hearing aids A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers ...

Early life

Holland was born on 10 February 1919 in

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, Sussex. His father, Algernon Holland, a Captain in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, died in the First World War, on 21 September 1918, before he was born. His father was serving with 249 Squadron, Seaplane Station, Dundee, when their Curtiss-H16 "Large America" flying boat "struck a ship's mast on the river Tay, crashed and burst into flames". He is buried at the Dundee Eastern Necropolis. He was the son of Arthur and Amy Holland of Horsham, Sussex. His mother, Helen Ruth Menzies, was Scottish, born in Argentina, of Quinta Rannock, San Ferriemdo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in 1921, they moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, and he was educated there at the English College.

Second World War

In the Second World War, Holland served with

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

. He was a Major in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

, and was awarded an MBE, and a Military Cross in 1945. The MBE was awarded in 1943 for his services in Greece. In 1948, the US awarded him the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Career

Holland founded

in Milan, Italy in 1950, in part because of his experience with servicemen suffering hearing loss in the war, and because of the invention of the

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

in the late 1940s. In 1971, he founded the independent not-for-profit Centre for Research and Studies (CRS) in Milan, to co-ordinate research into audiology and related areas.

Personal life

In 1950, Holland married Anna Maria Formiggini. She has been a director of Amplifon since 1980, chair since 1990, and honorary chair since 2011. Their daughter Susan Carol Holland has been chair of Amplifon since 2011. She owns 44.9% of Amplifon through her family's holding company. Algernon Holland died in 2001.

Legacy

The Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons was established in his honour, with Falklands war veteran

Simon Weston Simon Weston (born 8 August 1961) is a Welsh veteran of the British Army who is known for his charity work and recovery from severe burn injuries suffered during the Falklands War. Early life Weston was born at Caerphilly District Miners ...

as head of the judging panel.

References

1919 births British Army personnel of World War II Special Operations Executive personnel 2001 deaths British company founders Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross 20th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1910s-stub