Crossword compiler had baffled and delighted fans with his fiendish clues for more than half a century

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The Rev John Graham, who compiled crosswords for the Guardian for over 50 years and who was better known to readers by his pseudonym, Araucaria, has died aged 92.

Graham revealed in a puzzle in January this year that he was dying of cancer, in a cryptic crossword that included a set of special instructions: "Araucaria," it said, "has 18 down of the 19, which is being treated with 13,15".

Those who solved the puzzle found the answer to 18 was cancer, to 19 oesophagus, and to 13,15 palliative care. The solutions to some of the other clues were: Macmillan, nurse, stent, endoscopy, and sunset.

Graham, who compiled his first crossword for the Guardian in 1958 and adopted his pseudonym from the Latin for monkey puzzle tree, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Asked why he had decided to reveal details of his illness in a crossword, Graham said: "It seemed the natural thing to do, somehow."

Araucaria's last puzzle for the Guardian, the prize crossword no 26,107, published on 16 November, also had some hidden meanings.

The solution for 18 down, "Warning not to outstay welcome I encountered in African country (4,2,2)", was: time to go.

Other solutions included: second wind, nil by mouth and cottage hospital.

Graham, who lived in Somersham, Cambridgeshire, donated his oesophagus to the MRC cancer unit at Cambridge University, for research.

Taken on by the Guardian (then the Manchester Guardian) after winning the Observer's crossword-setting competition two years running, he was later made an MBE for services to the newspaper industry.

As well as writing crosswords for the Guardian, he contributed puzzles to publications including the Financial Times, under the pseudonym Cinephile (an anagram of Chile pine, another name for the monkey puzzle tree), the Church Times and 1 Across, the monthly subscription magazine that he founded.

One of the most admired and best-known crossword setters in the English language, Graham was known for his idiosyncratic style and extended anagrams.

Credited with evolving the artform of the cryptic crossword, he also produced themed puzzles on topics as varied as the UK shipping forecast and the 250th anniversary of the death of Bach.

He also invented the "alphabetical jigsaw puzzle".

Oxford-born Graham read classics at King's College Cambridge before joining the RAF in 1942. He returned to King's after the war to read theology and was ordained in the Church of England in 1948.

Twice married – his second wife died in 1994 – Graham revealed that he had inoperable cancer in a puzzle printed in the December 2012 issue of 1 Across before it was reprinted in the Guardian on 11 January this year.

He said he had been overwhelmed by the volume and warmth of the tributes that followed. "People have been ringing and sending me cards," he said. "It's been very nice, but I can't reply to them all."

Graham is survived by two brothers and his youngest sister, and by two stepdaughters from his second marriage.