Henry Van De Boogaard was born in 1923 in The Hague, Netherlands, to a family of bricklayers. He had two brothers who followed their father's trade and a younger sister. In 1938, his family gradually migrated to South Africa, with Van De Boogaard, his sister, and his mother being the last to leave. He developed an interest in meteorology from a young age, often observing the meteorological department across the road from his school and being fascinated by weather forecasts.