Sir Martin was the physicist founder of Oxford Instruments which he and his wife, Audrey, started in a shed in their garden.
He built the venture into a world-leading supplier of super-conducting wire as well as powerful magnets that operate at very low temperatures. A major contribution of these was in the first MRI whole-body scanners.
Sir Martin was a strong supporter of FARM Africa which was founded by his brother, Sir Michael Wood and David Campbell, and despite his packed schedule as an international physicist he found time to visit FARM’s projects and give much needed advice.