Skeats was born in Berais Town, Southampton, England, son of Frank George Skeats, a bank clerk and his wife Alice Erena Martin and was educated at Handel and Hartley colleges, Southampton, and entered the Royal College of Science, London, where he received a D.Sc.
Skeats was born in Berais Town, Southampton, England, to Frank George Skeats, a bank clerk, and Alice Erena Martin. He received his education at Handel and Hartley colleges in Southampton before attending the Royal College of Science in London, where he earned a D.Sc.