Arthur Addenbrooke was born in 1882, the son of Edward and Marianne Addenbrooke who resided at The Platts in Mill Street, Kidderminster. 

On the eve of war, Arthur’s father was one of only three consulting surgeons in the town - he was also the public vaccinator for the Wolverley district of the Poor Law Union of Kidderminster. 

Having attended King Charles Grammar School in Kidderminster, Arthur later moved to Warwick School to finish his education. Before War broke out he was employed as an assistant schoolmaster at Epsom College. Whilst undertaking this role he signed up as a Lieutenant in the Epsom Officer Training Corps (2nd Company, Infantry). In 1908, he joined the Warwickshire Regiment. 

In the early months of the war he was given a captaincy in the 14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion of The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He shipped-out to France in November 1915 and was moved up to the front for the Somme offensive in 1916.

It was on the 3rd of September 1916, in the taking of Falfemont Farm, which "had to be captured at any cost" that he sustained the wounds from which he died. 

Two platoons of his company had already been mown down in no man's land when Captain Addenbrooke, gathering the remainder of his men together, led a rush across 350 yards of ground that was being continuously swept by murderous machine-gun fire. Only a few reached their objective, but the position was taken.

Addenbrooke himself fell wounded close to the enemy's trench. In spite of severe wounds in both legs and a smashed ankle, he managed to crawl over the German's parapet and land a bomb squarely on a machine-gun which was causing trouble to the advancing Pals.

For this gallantry he received a mention in Sir Douglas Haig's dispatch, published in The Times of the 4th of January, 1917. However, he died of his wounds after being returned to Blighty to recuperate.

He is buried in Kidderminster (St John the Baptist) Churchyard and also appears on the War Memorial in the grounds of the same Church. His name also appears on the Kidderminster War Memorial which is situated outside the gates of St Mary's Church. 

Arthur is also commemorated in Kidderminster’s King Charles 1st Grammar School main-hall (which subsequently became the town's Registry Office) and the Worcestershire Roll of Honour for army casualties, which is located within Worcester Cathedral.