 Born in 1929, Dickson was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he completed his undergraduate and doctoral studies.He was elected to a two-year research fellowship at Nuffield College, Oxford, in 1954 and was then a tutor at St Catherine's Society, Oxford, from 1956 until 1960, when he the society was formed into St Catherine's College, Oxford, and he was elected one its first fellows.He served as the college's Vice-Master from 1975 to 1977.