Mervyn (Merv) Corner was a significant Aucklander. Born and bred in Auckland and schooled at Auckland Grammar, Corner was a representative rugby player at provincial and national level, playing 25 games for the All Blacks between 1930-36. He spent his entire working life at Auckland Savings Bank, becoming General Manager from 1968 to 1973. Merv Corner served in the Pacific during the Second World War from with the New Zealand Infantry in the 1st Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment, and was awarded the Military Cross in December 1944. He also served as a coast watcher in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Post-war, Corner played an active role in community sporting affairs serving for many years on the New Zealand Racing Authority, the Eden Park Trust Board and the Totalisator Agency Board, and as president of the Auckland Trotting Club, the New Zealand Barbarians Rugby Football Club (1958-9), and of the Auckland Rugby Football Union (1959-61). He also served as an Auckland and All Blacks selector. He also served as chair of the Transport Improvement Committee and the Fishing Industry Board, and on the New Zealand Film Commission (1977-86). In the 1974 New Year Honours He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the community in 1974, and in 1981 promoted to Commander (CBE) for services to the New Zealand fishing industry and the community. Corner died in Auckland in 1992.