The son of Thomas French Laurence, of 8, St Charles Square, Notting Hill, London, Laurence was educated at Merchant Taylors' School (while it was still in central London) and admitted to Trinity College as a sizar in October 1895.
[1] A Fellow of Trinity College for thirty-four years, Laurence served successively as Lecturer, Tutor, Junior Bursar during the First World War, Senior Tutor, and finally as Dean of the College.
In 1919–1920, while still Senior Tutor, he was the Director of Studies of the young Prince Albert, later King George VI, who spent a year at Trinity reading history following his war service, and also of his brother Prince Henry, later Duke of Gloucester.
In 1920 this role resulted in Laurence being appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
[1][3] A memorial to him in the chapel bears a long inscription in Latin written by his friend A. E. Housman, which praises his natural intelligence and his ability to bring the most difficult problems to successful outcomes, and describes him as a born historian and teacher, popular among students, and an agreeable companion.