Douglas John Thomas was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria, the son of a Methodist clergyman. He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne and during his medical course at Melbourne University he was resident in Queen's College. His course was interrupted when he joined the First AIF, in which he served at Gallipoli as regimental sergeant-major in 6 Field Ambulance. Along with many others he was sent back to Australia to complete his studies, graduating with the exhibition in surgery and first-class honours in medicine.

From 1919 until his death he was constantly associated with the Royal Melbourne Hospital, serving as honorary physician and member of the board of management. He developed a special interest in cardiology and until his death was actively planning the formation of a specialist unit in this field.

Over many years service on the council of the BMA he was elected treasurer and, in 1949, president. In the Second World War he was commanding officer of 116 AGH and of 115 Heidelberg Military Hospital. After the War he was chosen as first chairman of the Cancer Board of Victoria and oversaw the foundation of the Peter MacCallum Clinic. He was active in the life of the Methodist church, in which he was a lay preacher and founder and president of the Methodist Babies' Home. Probably Douglas Thomas will longest be remembered for his establishment of the first private x-ray and pathology services in Melbourne.

In all he undertook he had a flair for organisation, boundless energy and a charm which overcame many obstructions. Many will recall how he developed the Heidelberg Military Hospital into an efficient and friendly unit where staff and patients all saw his hand at work and respected what he did. For those who knew him as a teacher of clinical medicine the main memory will be of his bubbling enthusiasm, his precision in the use of terms, and his colorful, almost theatrical, mannerisms. Fellow members of professional committees will remember his ability to sum up problems that had become bogged down in non-essentials and then to offer suggestions for their solution. At times he was considered egotistical and domineering, charges which genuinely surprised him as he saw himself only as putting his best efforts into the task at hand. Failing health through vascular problems caused his early retirement, but he continued in many activities and died at work in his study.

Thomas loved to paint and to garden. These hobbies were performed with flair, and allowed his imagination great scope. He had many apt anecdotes with which he illustrated his discourses, and one which he told in late life illustrates something of his true character. In his young days he suffered an injury to one eye, and as a result his pupils, especially when seen in a bright light, so strongly resembled those of the Argyll Robertson type that he used to challenge students to `look me straight in the face and tell me why I should have a Wassermann reaction performed'. His enthusiasm for this exercise was permanently dampened when a very apprehensive student stammeringly replied, `So you really do have delusions of grandeur'.

Very much about Douglas Thomas was on the grand scale. He was lovable, always scrupulously fair and honest, and left a legacy of high quality private diagnostic services in Victoria. Even if one did not agree with him, it was easy to remain his friend.