Leaving the Service for a few years to be MD of the import-export company Cornes & Co. in the 1980s, he rejoined to serve as Deputy High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur in 1986. After an appointment as Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territories in London, he then spent five years in Los Angeles as Consul General where he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1996, two years before his retirement in 1998.
Throughout his career, and wherever he was, Merrick was known for his easy ability to make friends. His witty, gentlemanly manner, occasionally sprinkled with a certain Northern English grit, gained him a wide circle of the rich and famous, particularly during his time in Los Angeles and in his fundraising activity for the actor Sam Wannamaker’s project to rebuild the Shakespeare Globe, of which he was a director for several years. Credited among other things with introducing Elizabeth Taylor to John Warner (her 6th husband), his charitable involvement with a community outreach programme in Long Beach, California also led him to strike up an unlikely if brief friendship with one Calvin Broadus, later to become the rapper Snoop Dogg.
But perhaps unusually for someone with a position at the heart of the British establishment, he was always more enthusiastic about ordinary people in the countries in which he lived. He befriended taxi drivers, mechanics, golf caddies and teachers – some of whom he kept in touch with for many years, becoming intimately involved with their lives. In Japan, this gave him a subtle understanding of the way the Japanese saw Britain and the West, a quality overlooked by the office in London as the “economic miracle” played out. It was because of this that he was perhaps the best ambassador to Japan that Britain never had.
His interest in those who were unlike him took on a deeper aspect in the later years of his life. He was a local benefice of eight churches in the area where he lived in the rural village of Creaton, Northamptonshire, and a member of several philanthropic organisations including the St John Ambulance, Street Pastors and The Prison Fellowship. But he also assumed a largely independent and self-directed role as mentor, teacher or simply a good friend of the disaffected. With a prolific interest in writing to individuals in jail in the US and the UK, he had a correspondence that lasted for over twenty years until his death with an inmate serving life without parole at the Kern Valley jail in California. Merrick’s letters became a lifeline to the civilised world for those who had no other contact with it.
A remarkably relaxed involvement with drug addicts, former gangsters and thieves sometimes alarmed his family. His habit of accommodating the disadvantaged and otherwise homeless at his house in Creaton eventually had to be reconsidered when one such guest lapsed into an alcohol-fuelled attempt to steal as many possessions as they could carry out of the house and into his car before being found by police the next morning in a ditch. Unperturbed, Merrick immediately visited the consequently re-incarcerated former house guest in prison – to discuss what to do on release.
He is survived by his wife, Chrystal and children Jonathan and Harriet.
“I am a doctor's son. My father was a consultant at the Liverpool Royal Infirmary and various other hospitals in the Liverpool area.” …
An example of his fluency in Japanese is recorded in this video of a speech given at his friend Yasuo Kikuchi’s wedding reception, held in the residence at the British Embassy in 1982 (Please note the video is frozen for the first few moments):
Comments
Len Aarons
I work for the British Consulate in Los Angeles, California and as I’m sure many of you know, Merrick was Consul-General here in 1997 when I was hired officially. My position is Security Driver and naturally, I drove Merrick to and from work and to events around Los Angeles.
One of these events was at the Queen Mary, berthed permanently in Long Beach. It was a British Chamber of Commerce social evening and after dinner, there was a band and dancing. One of the other guests was a very petite, older, “cosmetically enhanced” lady who was a notorious flirt with younger gentlemen. She went to many of the men and asked them to dance but was denied. She eyed Merrick and being a true British gent, he danced with her. As soon as they entered the dance floor, she latched on to him as if they were lovers. She was about 4’10”, Merrick about 6 feet, so a perfect match it wasn’t. After each turn, Merrick glanced at me standing about 10 feet away. I chose to ignore him. At other turns he stared harder at me, eventually glaring as I shook my head at him, while giggling to myself. After his three minutes of Hell, I rescued him by saying “Excuse me CG, there’s a phone call for you” (well before cell phones).
He excused himself, apologised to his “partner,” and as he walked away with me, he whispered quite loudly “BASTARD!” A fun time was had by all..He got over it quite quickly.
His speeches were always well attended, because he often went off Government policy script and began talking about his adventures in Japan and Kuala Lumpur. They were like a travelogue and a few certain guests knew about this, and kept asking questions so he never went back on script..Too funny.
A great man who will be sorely missed.
Ceasar Benjamin Brantley
Merrick’s legacy has left me with a renewed sense of esteem for the values of the British crown, as he befriended my father and I during his diplomatic term in Los Angeles. I have a fond memory of having sat down with him in London, to tea with Margaret Thatcher, which for a poor bloke like me was touching the very hem of royalty. Although he could not get me to meet the late queen during his lifetime, his kindness and affection was as an extension of her realm and dignity, insomuch as that I am made fonder of the British crown and all its relatives with the hope of one day being united with them through the spirit of brotherhood. His legacy is definitely one to follow in after, as one of sainthood dignity.