Born in Northam, Western Australia, Carlin attended Guildford Grammar School in Perth, and later studied engineering at the Kalgoorlie School of Mines, before emigrating to Tientsin, China, to work in a British coal mine.
Born in Northam, Western Australia, Carlin attended Guildford Grammar School in Perth, and later studied engineering at the Kalgoorlie School of Mines. After qualifying as an engineer, he worked in the Western Australian Goldfields before emigrating to Tientsin, China, in 1939 to work in a British coal mine.