Born: 
24/02/1931
Died: 
15/11/2006
Specialty: 
General Internal Medicine
Designatory Letters: 
MRCS Eng, LRCP London 1959, MB Lond 1959, MRCPE 1966, MRCP Lond 1968, FRCP Edin 1975, FRCP Lond 1981

(Contributed by Dr Brian Cooper)

Vic Melikian was born into an Armenian family in Abadan, Iran. After schooling in Abadan, Vic went to UCH, London. He held junior posts at Nottingham General Hospital, Sheffield Royal Infirmary, Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham and Birmingham General Hospital. During his training, he gained experience in general medicine, gastroenterology and clinical haematology.

He was appointed Consultant Physician to Dudley Road Hospital specialising in gastroenterology and clinical haematology. After ten years, he concentrated on gastroenterology and developed the service including endoscopy. Vic was interested in medicine in its broadest sense. He remained committed to the general medical take and felt that every physician should have a good grounding in general medicine.

Vic had tremendous enthusiasm for medicine which he was able to transmit to students, colleagues, other hospital staff and his patients. He was the good Samaritan who frequently went out of his way to help patients or colleagues. He was an enthusiastic teacher and jobs with him were highly sought after. He was fiercely loyal to and protective of ‘his juniors’.

Vic was President of the West Midlands Physicians Association, President of the Midlands Gastroenterological Society and Regional Advisor for the Royal College of Physicians of London.

His interests were his family, music, walking and politics. He was proud of his Armenian roots and he was delighted to visit Armenia for the first time in 2001.

He is survived by his wife, Florence (nee Wilkinson), who is an anaesthetist, a daughter, who is an anaesthetic trainee with MRCP(UK)), a son and three grandchildren.