Mervyn Hartrick was born in Warwick on 5 August 1949, the son of Arthur Edward and Florence May Hartrick (née Eborall). He was the husband of Carole M Hartrick (née Potter) and lived in Southsea.  He died following an accident in the Submarine Escape Training Tank (SETT).

According to the Daily Mirror dated 7 November 1970: “Mystery death of navy sub trainee.  Full Admiralty board of inquiry was ordered last night into the death of a young Navy cook who wanted to be a submariner. Mervyn Hartrick, 21, died yesterday at HMS Dolphin, the shore-based submarine training establishment at Gosport, Hampshire. Two naval surgeons had spent about twenty four hours with him in a recompression chamber in an effort to save his life. But they were unable to correct the fatal changes which Hartrick is believed to have suffered in a mock escape from 100 ft. below the surface. Hartrick, of Southsea, was taking part with other trainees in escape procedure necessary for all would-be submariners. When he emerged from the water of HMS Dolphin’s deep-diving tank on Thursday morning he complained of dizziness. He went into the recompression cylinder and then lost consciousness.”