Harold Ackroyd was born on 18 July 1877 in Southport, Lancashire, the youngest son of Edward Ackroyd who ran a textile and tailoring business. Edward inherited a sizeable fortune from his mother's family in 1878 and became Chairman of the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway, a change in fortune which made a private education possible. Harold went to Mintholme College, Southport, a preparatory school and then on to a place at Shrewsbury School where he did well, participating in school sporting activities and as a member of the school Officers Training Corps.