Born at Allendale, Victoria where his parents had a farm, Spittle was the fifth of six children to William Spittle and Anne Spittle (née Hobill).
In 1942 Spittle joined the RAAF, initially conducting flight training at No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School, Temora NSW, he was later trained as a radar operator, spending the remainder of the war stationed at Coomalie Creek Airfield, in the Northern Territory.