Past Crossword Prize
I was tidying up my desk at home this morning in preparation for the big move when I came across this little cutting. I think this was the first crossword prize I ever won, from the Guardian. Note that the reward back then was a (Swiss) watch rather than the succession of dictionaries I’ve collected in the subsequent years. If I recall correctly they sent me a catalogue from which to pick a watch.
The current Guardian Prize crossword is number 27549, and the one in the picture is 19742; according to my calculations that must have been published about 25 years ago, which fits with the location of Bethnal Green, where I lived from 1991 to 1998…
If anyone can find out exactly when Guardian Prize Crossword No. 19742 was published and, more importantly, who the setter was, I’d be very interested!
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In the Dark 
June 30, 2018 at 3:56 pm
The Guardian’s online crossword archives go back surprisingly far, but not quite far enough: they start at 21,622, 25 June 1999. If I’ve done the arithmetic correctly, your puzzle was probably in June 1993. If you really want to find it, your university’s library probably has an archive of the Guardian, either digital or microfilm.
June 30, 2018 at 4:05 pm
Yes, I reckoned about the same but couldn’t be bothered to check missing numbers due to holidays, etc.
June 30, 2018 at 5:33 pm
That prize immediately suggests a crossword clue of its own.
Prize for astronomer looking upwards (6,5)