Born in South Wales, Davies worked as a shop assistant in Cardiff for a couple of years, then became a journalist, focusing on reporting the labour movement. By 1897, he was an organiser for the Navvies, Bricklayers' Labourers and General Labourers' Union based at Barry. He was imprisoned for six weeks after being convicted of intimidating a strikebreaker. He retained the backing of the union, and after his release, was elected as its president. In 1898, Davies moved to Leicester, to become the Midland Counties organiser of the Navvies' Union. However, the union's general secretary, John Ward, refused to allow him to see the union's books. Davies took Ward to court, but Ward did not attend, and the union's executive committee expelled Davies from the union.
