Overview
- Mervyn Kersh, 101, received a British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours for his wartime service and school talks on Holocaust remembrance.
- He said modern Britain is "disappointing" and voiced alarm about rising antisemitism that he says he sees and hears widely.
- He drew parallels with the pre‑Second World War period, argued Russia is threatening the West, and urged making defence the top budget priority.
- Kersh arrived in Normandy three days after D‑Day as a Royal Army Ordnance Corps technical clerk and was later near Bergen‑Belsen when it was liberated.
- The honours list recognised 1,157 recipients, highlighting community figures including chef Ryan Riley, prison volunteer Carl Portman, first‑responder twins Ryan and Dean Appleton, and 102‑year‑old John Hearn.