1943–2018

Martin was brought up in Beckenham, the second son of caring, non-medical parents. He attended Dulwich College, where he joined the Crusaders, pump-priming his teamwork and leaderships skills; this also activated his 'get on and do it' philosophy. He trained at King's College Dental Hospital, qualifying in 1966. Here he met his future wife, Jane, a fellow student. They married in 1967 and, reversing the trend of the era, they travelled and worked in Australia for a year.

Martin lived all his married life in Croydon, owning several general dental practices. He was a caring practitioner, well liked by his patients and well respected by his colleagues. However, it was for his non-wet fingered dentistry that he became known as Croydon's 'Mr Dentistry'.

Martin got involved in dental politics and education on many levels. He became a trustee of Croydon Postgraduate Medical and Dental Centre and sat on its many dental committees. He was instrumental, with others, in the inauguration and development of the new Croydon vocational training scheme. He also promoted and facilitated ongoing postgraduate education for the local dental community.

He was an active member of the local dental committee for 40 years, where he held the position of chairman, secretary and auditor adviser. He co-founded the 'Croydent' emergency dental scheme, now running as the main hub for south west London emergency dental treatment. In 2016, he received the 'Unsung Hero' award at the conference of LDCs. His pastoral nature made him particularly proud of this honour, as it recognised the sympathetic and supportive nature that he brought to dentistry in Croydon.

Within the BDA community Martin was very active with the Croydon section, holding positions as secretary and chairman during his 50 years of membership. He went on to hold the prestigious position of president of the southern counties branch in 2005. He became branch treasurer until recently, when his COPD illness made it too difficult to carry on, despite his determination.

Martin was a keen dinghy sailor, walker, traveller, theatre and Barbican concert enthusiast, and a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. His Christian faith was a high priority of his life, but he was never an evangelist, instead choosing the 'to do philosophy' by helping the youth community when he joined his local Purley united reform church. He became an elder of the church, co-founding the Purley youth project for which he received the 'Outstanding Achievement Award' from the Surrey Clubs for Young People.

Martin is succeeded by his wife of 51 years, Jane, their two children Paula (a freelance editor) and Barry (a general medical practitioner) and their six grandchildren, all of whom he was immensely proud.