Born in Marehay, Ripley, Derbyshire, Paling was the son of George Paling, a coalminer, from Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. At the age of 14 he started work in the local colliery before winning a scholarship to the Central Labour College in London. At the college he studied economics, industrial history and sociology.
Born in Marehay, Ripley, Derbyshire, Paling was the son of George Paling, a coal miner from Nottinghamshire. At 14, he entered the workforce before receiving an education at the Central Labour College in London, where he studied economics, industrial studies, and sociology.