Whakakihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau mai i Fife hei tetahi o nga tamariki e iwa, ko te papa o Daly a Jimmy he kaimahi maina me te mema o te Communist Party o Great Britain (CPGB), i pa ki te raarangi pango na ona mahi i te wa o te
Te patu whānui o te tau 1926. Ko Jimmy he uri Katorika Irish, ko Janet te whaea o Lawrence he Presbyterian. I whakaakona a Lawrence ki nga kura Katorika o te rohe: i kii ia i muri mai ko tana maatauranga i waiho i a ia me te mohio nui ki nga waiata Scottish me "te hiahia ki tetahi kaupapa tino whai mana". Kātahi ka whai ia i te mātauranga pakeke mā ngā akoranga reta i whakaritea e te National Council of Labour Colleges. I te 15 o ona tau, ka tiimata a Lawrence Daly ki te mahi hei kaimau i Glencraig Colliery. I tenei wa ka uru atu ia ki te Young Communist League.