Ernie Veitch grew up in Washington, County Durham, and went to the Washington Glebe Elementary School from 1934 to 1940, after which he went to Alderman Smith Grammar School, in Washington. He first attended King's College, Newcastle, in 1946, and was awarded his BSc in Chemistry and Bacteriology (with Physics and Botany as subsidiary subjects) in 1949.

Although he left university without a formal teaching qualification, he records that at the end of his BSc he had "recognition as a qualified teacher". But he returned to King's College in 1951 to take a one-year post-graduate course, which gave him his Diploma in Education. Armed with this he joined the staff of the South Shields Boys' High School until he left in 1959 to teach at the John Marlay School in Newcastle.

Ernie Veitch was also an aviator. He was a pilot with the RAF Auxilliaries, flying Vampires from RAF Ouston, and he later taught Air Cadets at RAF Leeming.

He died in January or February, 1999, at the age of 71