Merton was born on 6 December 1919 in Salford, Manchester to Lithuania born father Samuel and Isabel (Belle) nee Seligmann and he had two older brothers Teddy and Harry. Their father Samuel was a shirt manufacturer in Salford.

Merton attended Manchester Grammar school and after leaving school he worked as an efficiency expert in Bakelite at an electrical engineer company. All three brothers enlisted in the war with Merton joining the Royal Corps of Signals. Merton was serving in the Far East campaign when he was captured in Singapore by the Japanese on 15 February 1942. Records show that he died of Cholera in Myanmar on 28 May 1943.