Martin was named after a beautiful village on the Wiltshire/Dorset border where his parents spent their honeymoon...he was born 9 months later in the village of Hythe in the New Forest.  Although the family moved to Southampton a few years later, his love of the New Forest was life-long.
 
Martin’s father Bill, who saw action in the Navy during the Second World War, was away training as a teacher for the first few years of his life so he spent most of his time with his mother, Peg. After Bill returned home when Martin was five, his beloved sister Gill was born.  The family was very tight-knit though not without the occasional drama, notably when his paternal grandmother Kit – a very strong character whom Martin secretly admired – criticised Peg’s scones, an insult which was not quickly forgotten! 
 
Martin was a wonderful older brother to Gill.  When the family moved to a new house in his early teens, he insisted that she have the larger bedroom and he take the box-room as she had more toys and clothes than he did. This type of practical generosity and kindness was absolutely characteristic of Martin, as many of you will know.
 
Other members of Martin’s extended family also played an important part in his life, including his Aunt Barbara and his great-aunts Win and Mew who had been dress-makers at Court, along with the Corroyer family whose children Paul and Jane were honorary siblings and who are both here today.  These friends and relatives remained forever a precious part of his life, recalling happy memories of visits, outings and camping holidays. 
 
Another formative part of Martin’s life was the Boy Scouts, about which you will hear more. He was an enthusiastic Scout throughout his boyhood and as a Scout leader, he took his troop on regular trips in England and France. 
 
Health and Safety did not seem to feature very large in these expeditions and his tales of mishaps and disasters would have our hair standing on end!  His stories included the young Scout who became lost in Paris, without money or map, yet successfully made his way across the city to reach the designated emergency meeting point.  During the long wait that followed he was apparently sustained by pieces of fruit thrown down to him from the window of a local lady of the night…  When Martin and the other scout leader finally caught up with this boy he was justly awarded his Explorer’s Badge!
 
Martin’s first choice of career was Forestry which he hoped to study at Reading University.  Bizarrely he was rejected due to the fact that he hadn’t passed O-level French!  He then thought of law but was told by his school careers advisor that he was “aiming too high”... 
 
While I have to admit that his French remained something of a weak spot, he definitely went on to prove the career advisor wrong, getting his school’s first A grade in Economics at A level.  This led to a degree in Economic History at the LSE, a PhD and a long and successful academic career at Middlesex University.  There he was universally popular among colleagues, students and support staff and published two editions of a well-received book on the History of the European Union.
 
Martin and I first met at a seminar on the History of Childhood in Oxford in the early 1980s and bumped into each other at similar events over the following years.  Some years later he wrote to tell me that his marriage to Joanne – whom we are very glad is here today – had come to an end.  It turned out that this news was not intended simply to keep me up to date but indicated romantic designs… 
 
As we got know each other better, I was impressed by how deeply attached Martin was to Simon, then aged four.  After he and Joanne parted ways, he would collect him every evening without fail and spend a couple of hours on the floor playing with his toy cars.
 
Our relationship began to develop but the timing was not ideal as I was moving to Paris to take up a new job.   But Martin was nothing if not dedicated and for two years he flew out to Paris almost every weekend – mentioning the risk of bankruptcy with increasing regularity!
 
In 1989 we settled in London, married and Rachel soon arrived.  Martin doted on his baby daughter while continuing to be an attentive father to Simon, collecting him from Southampton every second weekend.  When Danny arrived, 20 months later, Martin started looking a little tired… Yet he remained an early riser (unlike me) which was fortunate as Danny clearly took after him in this regard.  From the age of two Danny would burst into our bedroom at 6.23am on the dot every morning and Martin would faithfully get up to attend to him.  
 
Five years later, when I became pregnant again, Martin was looking a little more tired…  He understandably found the thought of being a father of four at 50 rather daunting!  However, when little Zoe arrived, he was once again smitten.  She had fortunately inherited his liking for naps and they enjoyed many together in the early years of her life.
 
As well as being a devoted father, Martin was extremely supportive of my work.  He took on a share of domestic tasks that was very unusual for a man of his generation, including doing the weekly food shop and cooking hearty and delicious evening meals.
 
Martin remained strongly attached to his family of origin and was devastated when his father died of an unexpected heart attack, followed by the tragic loss of Gill to breast cancer in her 40s and, much later, the deaths of first Peg and then Auntie Barbara, the last member of his original family.
 
Martin remained equally loyal to his friends and colleagues, so many of whom have been in touch with us since his death and are either here today or watching this service online.
 
One thing that helped Martin through difficult times were the regular holidays we took with the children, our favourite destinations being Andalucia, the Swiss Alps and the Scilly Isles.  We shared a love of nature and the outdoors and walks through beautiful scenery was a central part of these holidays. 
 
After the children grew up, Martin and I continued to travel, sometimes taking advantage of invitations I received to work abroad.  We particularly enjoyed several visits to China, spending a week with a guide each time, discovering a different part of the country.  Then, when I was teaching, Martin would happily travel around Beijing to visit museums and do some shopping.  His Scout training showed in his ability to master the complicated underground system, signposted only in Mandarin!
 
During his last illness Martin’s sense of humour remained intact.  On the day he died we laughed together as we remembered one of our early dates – lunch at Brown’s in Oxford, a popular restaurant known for its generous portions.  While I was tucking into my meal, he looked up and said ‘Well, you have a jolly good appetite, don’t you!!’  While factually correct, this comment did NOT land well.  I began having second thoughts about the relationship – and our marriage and the three children almost didn’t happen!   Fortunately I decided to give him another chance.  I am very happy that I did.