RIP Araucaria (Rev John Graham)

[ianr]

Best known as a doyen of cryptic crossword compilers, he does actually have an ED connection. After war service and then Cambridge he was ordained into the C of E, and St Johns, ED, was his first parish. His falling in love with a young woman of the parish was not approved of -- "we were supposed to be celibates ... it was a rule of that particular parish" -- and he was accordingly bundled off to serve in Durham instead. They did eventually get married, after she spent a year in a TB sanatorium. Source: Desert Island Discs, 10 Jul 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/find-a-castaway @ 20min.

[civilservant]

Thanks for sharing this news, ianr.

He will be much missed, especially on Saturdays and Bank Holidays... Not a lot of people you can say that about.

[Sue]

Is he the one who announced his terminal illness in a crossword?

[BrandNewGuy]

Yes he did. I had the pleasure of going to his 80th birthday party - 12 years ago. A great man.