"Doc" Skilling started his education at the Royal Jubilee School, North Shields, in 1916, from where he went to the Tynemouth Municipal High School from 1922 to 1929.

In 1929, he started a 5-year period at Armstrong College, Newcastle (University of Durham), where he gained his BA Hons in French (with Latin as a subsidiary subject). His last year there was spent gaining his Diploma in Theoretical and Practical Teaching and armed with this he taught a various schools within Newcastle from August 1934 to 1941.

He transferred to South Shields High School in May, 1941. But his studies didn't stop at this point, and he went on to gain his MA in 1943, and his PhD in 1950 - it was this last qualification that earned him the nickname of "Doc" Skilling.

He retired in 1971, and died early in 1978.