[1] Addison was born in Chobham, Surrey[2] to a father who was a colonel in the Royal Field Artillery, and this influenced the decision to send him to school at Wellington College, Berkshire.

At the age of sixteen he entered the Royal College of Music,[3] where he studied composition with Gordon Jacob, oboe with Léon Goossens, and clarinet with Frederick Thurston.

He had a personal connection to Reach for the Sky (1956) which he scored, since Douglas Bader (the subject of the movie) was his brother-in-law, having married Addison's elder sister Thelma.

His classical works included the Concerto for trumpet, strings and percussion (1949), described by The Times as "buoyant" and "Gershwinesque";[9] a trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon;[10] Carte Blanche, a ballet for Sadler's Wells first performed at the 1953 Edinburgh Festival[11] from which an orchestral suite of "sophisticated high spirits" was performed at the Proms;[12] a septet for wind and harp,[13] a piano concertino,[14][15] a concertante for oboe, clarinet, horn and orchestra;[16] and a partita for strings, which was warmly praised.

He was survived by his wife Pamela; two sons Jonathan and Daniel; daughter Lucinda; stepson Rex Birchenough, and stepdaughter Sandra Stapleton.