Background
Bland was born the youngest son of Francis Maltby Bland, Doctor of Laws, Justice of the Peace, and his wife Edith Richenda Bland (née Barclay).
Bland was born the youngest son of Francis Maltby Bland, Doctor of Laws, Justice of the Peace, and his wife Edith Richenda Bland (née Barclay).
Bland was educated at Eton, and then at King"s College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor degree in 1908, upgraded to Master of Arts in 1912.
He also authored or edited several legal books and articles He entered the Diplomatic Service in 1911. After a long spell serving as Private Secretary to various senior diplomats and then as Counsellor, Nevile Bland was knighted Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1937 Coronation He was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Netherlands in 1938, and narrowly escaped internment by the Nazis by escaping in 1940.
He remained with the Netherlands government in exile in England during the war, and then again in The Hague until March 1948 (his post was upgraded to Ambassador in 1942).