Frank Louis Merriman was born in Egham, Surrey, on 20 October 1896, the son of William Heath Merriman and Winifred Emma Merriman (née Evans).  He served as a Midshipman on the Battleship HMS WARSPITE from March 1915 and as a Sub Lieutenant on HMS ACASTA from May 1917.  He was promoted to Lieutenant in May 1918 and, in January 1919, he went to Cambridge University for a year.  

He joined Submarines in April 1920. Merriman had appointments to HMS L20 as Navigator in July 1920, to L33 as First Lieutenant in June 1921 and M1 as Gunnery Officer in June 1922, before taking his Commanding Officers’ Qualifying Course in 1924 and then serving in command of HMS H24.  He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in August 1926 and, in September 1926, he joined the Battle Cruiser HMS REPULSE.

Command of HMS L19 in the Far East followed in January 1929 and, in May 1930, he was appointed to command HMS OBERON in the Mediterranean. He was appointed to HMS St ANGELO in April 1937, serving on the Staff of the Vice Admiral in Charge, Malta. Frank Merriman is reported to have died of illness in the Royal Naval Hospital in Malta on 29 August 1944.  He was the husband of Elise Frances Frederica Merriman (née Garnett).