Holmes was born in Uxbridge, Greater London, and was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, where he was coached by Olympic rowing silver medallist Jim Clark.

[3] At the age of 19, he won the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.

[4] winning the coxed four and the coxless pair competitions.,[5] He retired from rowing in 1990 and severed most contacts with the sport.

His daughter only discovered her father's gold-medal-winning pedigree when reading about him in a book at school.

[3] He died in London in 2010 after contracting Weil's disease, a severe form of leptospirosis, which results from contact with urine from infected animals or ingesting water contaminated with urine from infected animals.