Honours have gone to a 101-year-old D-Day veteran who is 'disappointed' with the state of modern day Britain - as the names of everyday heroes who made this year's list are revealed.

Mervyn Kersh, who was recognised for his school talks on Holocaust remembrance and his wartime service, said it was a 'wonderful thing' to receive the award.

However, the British Empire Medal bearer also expressed concerns about rising anti-Semitism in the UK.

Mr Kersh, from Cockfosters, north London, explained: 'It's disappointing what's turned out now.

'What's disappointing is the anti-Semitism that I see everywhere, hear everywhere, or read.'

He admitted his wartime service was 'worth it' but added his efforts to educate young people 'do not always work'.

The British Army Jewish veteran arrived in Normandy aged 19, three days after the start of the Allies' D-Day invasion of Nazi-controlled France in June 1944, serving as a technical clerk for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, organising vehicle support.

He was later stationed near Bergen-Belsen when the camp was liberated by British troops in April 1945.

D-Day veteran Mervyn Kersh, awarded BEM for services to Holocaust Remembrance

Mr Kersh is pictured in November last year standing amongst the Standing with Giants silhouettes at the For Your Tomorrow installation at the British Normandy Memorial, in Ver-Sur-Mer, France

Mr Kersh said he would normally tell schoolchildren during his talks about how the conflict began.

He added: 'There'd be no need for a war now, we've got the wrong attitude.'

The veteran also said he 'absolutely' saw comparisons between now and the period just before the Second World War, adding that Russia is 'threatening the west'.

He went on: 'The top budget should be defence, there's nothing there for anything else. That's all there is.

'Defence must come first, second, third, fourth and fifth, because only if you're strong, you won't be attacked.'

Mr Kersh compared today's Western leaders to Neville Chamberlain, whose 1930s appeasement of Hitler failed, saying: 'They think they've just got to hope and make speeches.'

He added: 'We've got to either have another leader who's more aggressive, I don't mean start a war, but aggressive. We've got to defend, that's the first concern.'

The other every day heroes to receive gongs in the New Year Honours list were also revealed last night.  

A BEM for charitable chef Ryan Riley - 'for services to sufferers of loss of taste'

Among them was a chef who founded a cookery school after his terminally ill mother lost the ability to taste food, recognised for services to 'sufferers of loss of taste'.