Roger Squires facts for kids
Roger Squires (born February 22, 1932 – died June 1, 2023) was a British crossword puzzle maker. He lived in Ironbridge, England. He was famous for creating more crosswords than anyone else in the world. He used different pen names like Rufus for The Guardian and Dante for The Financial Times. He also made the Monday crosswords for the Daily Telegraph.
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Roger Squires was born in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, on February 22, 1932. He went to Wolverhampton Grammar School. At just 15, he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman.
He spent 15 years in the Fleet Air Arm, which is the Navy's air force. He became an observer and was the youngest officer ever in that group. He traveled to 44 countries! During the 1956 Suez Crisis, he was in the first plane to land in Port Said. In 1961, he survived a plane crash in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. He escaped from his Gannet plane 60 feet underwater. Because he survived, he became a member of the Goldfish Club, which is for people who survive plane ditchings (landing in water).
While in the Navy, Roger also wrote, produced, and acted in many shows for the forces. He loved sports and played football and cricket for the Royal Navy. He even became a qualified coach and referee for football.
After leaving the Navy in 1963, he worked briefly as an entertainment manager. That same year, his first puzzle was printed in the Express & Star newspaper in Wolverhampton. Soon after, his puzzles appeared in the Radio Times and he became a regular puzzle maker for the Birmingham Post. He then started making puzzles for many other newspapers in the UK and around the world.
A Career Full of Crosswords
In 1981, Roger Squires began making crosswords for major newspapers like The Guardian and Financial Times. He also became the crossword editor for the Birmingham Post for 22 years. Later, he joined Daily Telegraph and The Independent. He also made puzzles for The Sun and The Times. He used several pen names, including Rufus, Dante, Icarus, Hodge, and Bower.
In 1990, he led the Great Britain crossword team in a big international crossword competition in Yugoslavia.
Roger Squires created an amazing number of crosswords. He published over 70,000 puzzles in total! On May 14, 2007, his two millionth clue was published in the Daily Telegraph. The clue was: 'Two girls, one on each knee (7)'.
He was recognized by Guinness World Records as "The World's Most Prolific Crossword Compiler." His name was in the Guinness Book of Records from 1978 until 2002.
His puzzles were published in 32 countries outside the UK. In 2013, he celebrated 50 years as a professional crossword setter. By June 30, 2013, he had made 74,634 crosswords, which means about 2.25 million clues! He holds the record for the longest word ever used in a published puzzle: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. This is a very long Welsh place name! He even made a 3D crossword that fits on a Rubik's Cube.
Books and TV Appearances
Many crossword books from newspapers like The Times and The Guardian include Roger Squires's puzzles. He also helped write three general knowledge books about the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Roger Squires was also a member of Mensa, a group for people with high IQs, and The Magic Circle, a famous organization for magicians.
From 1964 to 1977, he appeared on TV over 250 times as a comedy magician. He also talked about crosswords on TV shows like "How To Solve Cryptic Crosswords" (BBC4) in 2009 and "The One Show" (BBC1) in 2011. Besides crosswords, he had small roles in the TV series Crossroads and appeared on shows like Crackerjack!.
Personal Life and Passing
In 1977, Roger Squires decided to work from home. He stopped professional acting and magic so he could take care of his two young sons. He later married Anna.
Roger Squires passed away on June 1, 2023, at the age of 91. His death was announced in a special way. The Guardian newspaper's prize crossword, partly made by his friend 'Paul', included clues that hinted at his passing. This was a unique tribute, similar to how another famous crossword setter, Araucaria, announced his cancer diagnosis in a crossword grid.
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