If Sherlock Holmes made crosswords

Did you know Eille Norwood set crosswords? 

Daily Express - Saturday 25 February 1928
ELEMENTARY WATSON!

IF SHERLOCK HOLMES MADE CROSSWORDS

Would Sherlock Holmes have been a crossword puzzle "fan"? In the opinion of Mr. Eille Norwood, the distinguished actor who created the stage and screen roles of Sherlock Holmes, he would have been one of the foremost authorities on the pastime.

In Holmes' unavoidable absence - he was definitely "killed" some time ago by his creator Sir A. Conan Doyle - Mr. Norwood himself claims the distinction. He has been a crossword puzzle enthusiast from the beginning of the craze, and has compiled for his own amusement and that of his friends many crossword puzzles of great originality and ingenuity - just the sort of puzzle, in fact, that Holmes might have compiled as a change from violin playing and fooling Scotland Yard.

The "Daily Express" has invited Mr. Norwood to set for its readers a special series of crossword puzzles having "the Sherlock Holmes touch." The first of the series will appear next Monday.

These puzzles will be found not only original and ingenious; neither are they "above the heads" of average crossword puzzle solvers.

Every reader of the "Daily Express" who looks to crossword puzzles for mental recreation will find Mr. Norwood's examples stimulating and extremely interesting.

Daily Express - Monday 27 February 1928

Daily Express - Friday 14 June 1935
An Eille Norwood admirer
Some of your crossword puzzles are so simple that the solution time is only a question of how rapidly the letters can be written in. One looks forward to Tuesdays and Fridays for Eille Norwood's clever and interesting puzzles. I wish we couls have more of these.

D.E. Douch, Malcombe-terrace, Bournemouth

Daily Express - Monday 22 November 1937
Reader T Johnston of Fulham writes of wanting to know something of crossword puzzler Eille Norwood, who has contributed over 1,400 puzzles to the Daily Express during the last 9 years.

Norwood is tall, dark, "distinguished looking." In the 20's he played SherlockHolmes in a run of West End plays, in the films too. Now he lives in a small house with a garage n Farnham - in none too good health.

Club room repartee got Norwood his job. One 1928 day, as he was sitting in club-room armchair solving a puzzle, friend Reginald Pound, then features editor of the Daily Express, asked what he thought of crosswords. Norwood said clue he had just solved was childish (it was: "Part of the verb to have," answer, "Has"). "How would you have clued it?" asked Pound. Said Norwood, "If this comes before ten, you'll have to hurry." "Would you like to set a series for us?" asked Pound.

Crossword takes about 1 1/2 hours to set. The designs are prepared first to allow the use of both long and short words. The interlocking of the words doesn't take as long as the wording of the clues.

Small-minded readers often haggle over the clues. One advised Norwood to study natural history because he had given a clue reading "One gadfly will produce 150, for example." The answer was Cleg (CL equals 150; e.g. means "for example.") South Kensington Natural History Museum fly expert said, "I expect several hundred would be near enough."

Daily Express - Friday 08 April 1938

Modest feature which started as a fashion, became an institution, doesn't get much boosting: the cross-word. On page 18 today appears 1,000th crossword composed for the Daily Express by EILLE NORWOOD. In all those thousand, Norwood claims, he has never been caught out in an error - except one "literal" misreading of one letter for another.

He always has crosswords to hand for six or seven weeks ahead, in case of illness: just as well, for he is only just recovering from attack of shingles which has lasted on & off, for ten months. He works late at night.

Norwood's name was originally Anthony Brett. When he went on the stage against his father's wishes (he is only actor who has played Sherlock Holmes on both stage & screen), he looked round for another name.

He took Norwood because he happened to be staying there; Eille because he saw a small child write that when trying to spell its own name. He doesn't know what child's real name was. Eille is pronounced I-ly. Name has its disadvantages; Norwood once returned telegram, meant for him, which was addressed Eleanor Wood.

With World War 2 days away, Eille Norwood published his last crossword. There was no fanfare or announcement that they were ending: 

Daily Express - Tuesday 29 August 1939