Barbara Hall (editor)

In a career spanning seven decades, she edited, created and set puzzles for the Daily Mail, The Yorkshire Post, The Sunday Times and The Observer, as well as many other newspapers, making her Britain's longest serving crossword compiler.

After gaining a scholarship to attend Parkfield Cedars Grammar School in Derby,[2] Hall had her first crossword published, when she was 15 years old, in the Northern edition of the Daily Mail in 1938.

Her advice column, "Tell me Josephine", was one of the paper's most popular features, and resulted in a book,[4] including a foreword by Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the first President of Zambia, which was translated into over 19 languages.

Whilst working in the newspaper industry in Zambia, she met many eminent people, including Jomo Kenyatta, Indira Gandhi and Chiang Kai-shek.

After returning to the United Kingdom in 1967, she continued to compile crosswords and puzzles, alongside articles, reviews and features, which appeared in a wide range of publications.

[8] Hall retired from the Sunday Times in 2010,[9] at the age of 87, though continued to compile crosswords for The Australian newspaper weekend edition until late 2011, and on a voluntary basis for local charities for some years.