I have just spoken to my brother. He told me that he was a winner of a recent Observer "Everyman" crossword competition and has netted the kudos of winning, £15 in book tokens, and this round of applause. I haven't seen a hard copy and I couln;t find the winers on line, but his enry was attributed to David Walker, of Billericay.
He also mentioned that he has won, on at least 5 occasions, the Chemistry Society (I may have the name wrong) crossword competition, and they give £25 in book tokens.
Our dad occasionally won crossword competitions. I remember him winning a bottle of Knockando whisky, and apparently he also won a leather wallet. I think one was with the Times, the other the Telegraph.