Mervyn was born in Cambridge UK. His early years were spent in Armidale (NSW, Australia) where his father, Canon Archdall, headed a theological college. His later formative years were spent in Auckland where he attended Kings College (his father being its headmaster).

He also enjoyed 3 years at the Otago Medical School and then finished his medical training in England; then he spent 2 years at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh to obtain the FRCP. As a registrar at Southend-on-Sea he enlisted in the eighth army and saw service in the desert, then back to England for the D-Day invasion and eventually Germany.

As ship’s surgeon he travelled back to Auckland, where he was appointed to the consultant staff of Green Lane Hospital as a physician specialising in gerontology and in private practice with a major interest in medical insurance.

He married Peg Brown in 1950 and they had two daughters. Mervyn was a good physician and a gentleman always immaculately attired. He enjoyed gardening, trout fishing, architecture and design, and painting landscapes.