Nicknamed "Kittie", Kitson was a very religious serious-minded man and a teetotaller. He was quite strict as J. N. F. Green makes clear: "Lifelong self-discipline gave Kitson exceptional powers of endurance and concentration in difficult and trying conditions. Somewhat of a driver in the field, he never spared himself, taking the heaviest burden." L. J. Spencer, formerly keeper of minerals at the British Museum, described Kitson as "a most energetic little man; his constant companion was a small prospecting pan". Spencer remembered "a journey with him in 1924 in the mining districts of northern Ontario; at every halt of the train he was out with his little pan in any ditch he could find". At the award of his Lyell medal, Ormsby-Gore spoke of "his tireless energy, but his attractive and stimulating personality".