Born in Nottingham, Proctor left school at the age of twelve, and when he was fifteen, he travelled to France and joined Giuseppe Garibaldi's Army of the Vosges; fighting in the Franco-Prussian War.

Despite early disagreements over whether to support Liberal-Labour candidates or only independent labour ones, it gradually grew in strength and hosted the national Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 1899.

This proposal gained support and, although Proctor had limited further involvement, the congress went ahead and founded the Labour Representation Committee (LRC).

[2] Although he had no connection with the area, and remained resident in Plymouth, Proctor visited Grimsby frequently for a week at a time to campaign and give speeches, gradually attracting larger crowds to hear him.

[6] Proctor did not stand for Parliament again until the 1918 general election, when he was selected for Nottingham East by the renamed Labour Party, with the support of the ILP.