Martin died on 4 October 2017 following a year-long fight against cancer. He was born on 4 June 1950, the first of five children of Lawrence and Mary Wardle. Martin started his dental training at Birmingham University in 1968 following in the footsteps of his father Lawrence, who had also studied dentistry there. After graduation in December 1973 he set about establishing a very successful dental career, starting with an oral surgery house job at Birmingham General Hospital, then moving on to The Royal Hospital Portsmouth, where he met his future wife, Barbara. They married on 1 May 1976, celebrating their ruby wedding anniversary last year. In 1975 he joined his father in practice in Ashford, Middlesex, and achieved his dental fellowship in 1979. Later, his brother Tim also joined the practice. After Lawrence’s retirement the brothers ran the practice together until it was sold in 2010. Martin combined his dental practice with an appointment in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the Royal Surrey in Guildford from 1979. He took the lead in the prosthetic rehabilitation of head and neck cancer patients, being an early adopter of dental implants. He was co-founder of an implant practice at Guildford. He ran study days at the postgraduate medical centre. He was active in the Surrey Local Dental Committee and the Middlesex and Hertfordshire Branch of the BDA, of which he became President. He was instrumental in revitalising the Hounslow and Twickenham Section to include an annual study day, in future to be named the ‘Martin Wardle Team Day’. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the BDA in 2015. In March of this year he and Barbara were able to attend the branch meeting in Krakow and were given a very warm and generous tribute by their old friends in the profession. Travel was an important part of their lives. Martin also pursued many other interests. He was in Round Table for 13 years, and his house bore testament to his enthusiasm for very professional DIY. He was keenly interested in cars. He loved watching cricket, swimming, skiing, and scuba diving. He had achieved divemaster status and obtained his Yacht Master Theory qualification. He also found time and passion for Egypt and its history. He was an outstanding professional colleague, wonderful with patients, a generous and steadfast friend, and a very loving husband, father and grandparent. It is ironic that someone who dedicated many hours in reconstructing the faces and improving the oral health and lives of cancer patients should so cruelly be taken by the same disease at a young age. He is survived by his father Lawrence, his four siblings, his wife Barbara and their children Claire and David, and grandchildren Lily, Sam and George.