Michael Wilks obituary
My friend Michael Wilks, who has died of prostate cancer aged 69, was a forensic physician. His professional achievements were underpinned by his courage and honesty in confronting his problems with alcohol and he made an outstanding contribution to changing attitudes towards addiction.
Michael was born in Paddington, west London, to Dennis, a GP, and Bridget (nee Chetwynd-Stapylton), a nurse. After attending St John’s school in Leatherhead, Surrey, he graduated in 1972 from St Mary’s hospital medical school in London, where we met in 1967. Afterwards he became a GP and soon became a principal at practices in Kensington and then Richmond upon Thames (1975-92).
During that period he also carried out extra work as an on-call doctor for the Metropolitan police, and he left general practice to become the Met’s senior police surgeon from 1992 to 1997, moving up to principal forensic medical examiner (1997-2010). From an early point in his career, work pressures and the deaths of his father and brother contributed to heavy drinking, which eventually led to a difficult time both in his personal and professional life.
Sobriety was achieved in 1991, through attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The care and encouragement Michael was then able to bring to countless others with addictions was perhaps his greatest personal achievement.
With other forensic specialists in 2006, Michael established the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians in London, aimed at raising standards in forensic and legal medicine. He was registrar of the faculty from 2015 to 2018.
He also served as chair of the board of trustees of the Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (now Forward Trust). Additionally, Michael made a considerable impact in medical politics, becoming president of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (2008-09), and chair of the British Medical Association’s representative body (2004-07.
Involved at the start of the Social Democratic party, he made a respectable showing in the 1983 and 1987 general elections as a candidate in the Brentford and Isleworth constituency in London and then for the Green party in Winchester, Hampshire, in 2015.
As chair of the BMA’s ethics committee (1997-2006), Michael also played a key role in steering British medicine through some challenging ethical issues. Informed by his experiences and the lack of support for unwell doctors, he was a founder, medical referee and trustee of the Sick Doctors Trust.
His great sense of humour and fun (with a resounding laugh) was built on interests in music and literature. He was a talented pianist and poet.
Michael is survived by his wife, Sandy (nee McLean), a public relations consultant whom he met in 2002 and married last year, his children, Anthony, Philippa and Nicola, from his first marriage to Patricia (nee Hackforth), which ended in divorce in 1992, his brothers, Nicholas and John, and four grandchildren, Emily, Thomas, Henry and Stanley.