Paul's Cousin Dies

Crossword Compiler Bert Danher Dies
Thu Mar 14,12:52 PM ET

LONDON - Bert Danher, the crossword compiler at The Daily Telegraph
newspaper who produced a special puzzle for the Queen Mother
Elizabeth on her 100th birthday, has died at age 75.


Danher, who liked to introduce himself as "the man who is Thursday,"
because his puzzles appeared on Thursdays, died March 4 in his home
town of Oxton near Birkenhead in northwest England, the newspaper
said Thursday. No cause of death was given.

A cousin of the former Beatle Paul McCartney, Danher was considered
the most inventive of The Daily Telegraph's 10 compilers. Anagrams
were a favorite, and Danher's love of classical music also was
evident in many of his clues.

Born in Liverpool, Danher became a clerk with the Liverpool Cotton
Commission after leaving school. During World War II, he trained as a
Royal Air Force crewman, but never saw active service.

Danher spent eight years as an insurance inspector in Wales and then
worked as a music teacher in the Liverpool area; he once played the
French horn with the Royal Liverpool Harmonic and ran an amateur
orchestra that gave Simon Rattle one of his first conducting jobs.

His uncle Jim McCartney — Paul's father — inspired his love of
crosswords, and in 1974 Danher became a professional compiler,
contributing puzzles to several London papers, including The Guardian
and The Times.

He also wrote questions for the TV quiz show, "University Challenge."

Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites) reportedly did his crosswords
and the Queen Mother reportedly is also a fan. A enlarged copy of her
birthday crossword, consisting of clues about her life, was carried
by two children at a parade in London to mark the royal matriarch's
centenary.

Danher is survived by his second wife, Lin, and a son.