Norren Edward Awunor Renner was a specialist in oral medicine at the Eastman Dental Institute, London. He was born on 3 June 1925 in Sierre Leone. His family, the Awunor (or Awoonor) Renners, has produced several generations of doctors, lawyers and businessmen in Sierra Leone, Ghana and the United Kingdom. His father, Edowo ‘Teddy’ Awunor Renner, was director of medical services in Sierre Leone; his mother was Carmela Agatha Awunor Renner née Pitt. His paternal grandfather, William Awunor Renner, was principal medical officer in Sierra Leone. Renner attended school in Edinburgh and then attended Edinburgh University, qualifying with the MB ChB in 1949. He then carried out his National Service as a flying officer in the medical branch of the Royal Air Force. He first specialised in ophthalmology, gaining his diploma in ophthalmology in Birmingham in 1956. During this period, he wrote two papers in the *British Journal of Ophthalmology*(‘Combined action of diamox and potassium bicarbonate in the treatment of chronic glaucoma’ *Br J Ophthalmol*. 1957 Dec;41[12]:746-58 and ‘Effect of diamox on plasma bicarbonate and on the electrolyte balance in relation to intra-ocular pressure in man’ *Br J Ophthalmol*. 1958 Dec;42[12]:732-8). He was a member of the Midland Ophthalmological Society. In the 1960s he switched specialties; he studied dentistry at Guy’s, gained his licentiate in dental surgery in 1965 and became a fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1970. In 1971 he wrote a paper for the *Journal of the Irish Dental Association* (‘Herpes simplex – report of a case with hepatic complications’ *J Ir Dent Assoc.* 1971 Sep-Oct;17[5]:159-60). Renner died on 14 December 2014 at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral after a long illness. He was 89. He was survived by two brothers and a sister, several nephews and nieces.