Aiskew Paffard Hollis was born in approximately 1764 and joined the Royal Navy aged just ten in 1774 under the patronage of Captain Parry. Hollis served as a midshipman in the American War of Independence, first in the West Indies and later in the English Channel in a succession of frigates. By 1778 he was serving in HMS "Valiant", which was engaged in the Battle of Ushant under Admiral Augustus Keppel. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1781 and remained in the Navy following the end of the war, serving in a number of ships before, in 1793, joining HMS "Queen" at the request of Rear-Admiral Alan Gardner. In "Queen", Hollis served in the Channel Fleet during the early years of the war and was badly wounded in the head by flying splinters at the Glorious First of June in 1794, during which "Queen" was heavily engaged. He also saw action the following year at the Battle of Groix.