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John Young, who has died unexpectedly aged 62, had his first puzzle published in the Guardian in 1984. He set as Shed for this paper and as Dogberry in the Financial Times. His clues were always conspicuously fair and unpedantic and he was the kindest, most natural and easygoing person an editor could wish to work with.John was introduced to cryptic puzzles by his parents, Audrey (nee Jones), a secretary, and Bill Young, a research forester. His mother set puzzles for the Guardian as Audreus until well into her 90s. After a degree in French and German at Durham University and a spell as a travel representative in various countries, he got a doctorate at Sheffield University, where he then worked on a project to produce an electronic version of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, written by the Protestant English historian and first published in 1563. Continue reading...