Later in his life he was the chairman of the Hythe Festival and the Hythe Civic Society. He successfully underwent treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, but after a prolonged period of remission the disease returned, with Holman succumbing to the disease on 7 October 2011. He was buried at the Shorncliffe Military Cemetery. Following his death, a strip of parkland in Hythe running alongside the Royal Military Canal was renamed Holman's Field in his honour.