Merrick entered my life around 1950, when I was about six or seven, and when he and his three younger brothers, Nigel, Rodney, and Christopher, first visited 61 Albert Road, Southport, where I lived with my mother, Dr Kathleen Nicholson-Smith, a general practitioner. Thereafter all four boys lived with us for varying spells, although after a while boarding school took us away for much of the year. Their father lived with us too for a couple of years until he and my mother parted ways. My mother’s relationship with “the boys” continued for a good while, and with Merrick that relationship endured until her death in 1995.
Another important connection of ours with the Baker-Bateses came about via Reiko Ebine, now Reiko Benson, who was first “brought” by Merrick to England from Japan as an au pair for him and Chrystal. When the time came for Reiko to return home, it became apparent, as she was spending her “last week” in Southport visiting my mother – known to her, to Merrick and his brothers, and indeed to many others, as “Auntie Kath” – that she did not really want to leave the country. The upshot was that my mother took her under her wing, and Reiko lived for many years with her and became a British subject. Today she lives near Bedford, and hopes to attend Merrick’s memorial celebration.
I migrated to the USA in 1970 and saw Merrick only rarely over the years. When my mother died in October 1995, Merrick came to Southport and helped me and Reiko with the funeral arrangements. And he spoke on that occasion with characteristic grace of his great affection for Kathleen, and I could not have been more grateful to him. Perhaps these few recollections of mine can serve in a way as a thank-you to Merrick for that in particular and in general for being a real friend.
Let me add my deepest condolences to Chrystal and the whole family.
Donald Nicholson-Smith, New York
