For Mervyn Kersh the morning post contained a “huge surprise” last week – the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest military honour.
The medal was awarded to the pensioner to mark his involvement in the D-Day landings in 1944.
Mr Kersh, who served as a private in the ordnance corps was one of the first 10 soldiers from his unit to land on Gold beach, on the Normandy coast, one of the locations chosen for Allied invasion.
“I had such a grin on my face when I realised what the letter was,” he said. “My son pinned the medal to my shirt and took a picture you can see how happy I was.
“It is a great award and such a huge achievement. I feel very pleased and proud to have it and obviously my family is very happy.
“I had no idea it was coming and when I opened it I was shocked.”
He added that he thought he was “finally” given the award because “there are not many of us left nowadays”.
Accompanying the medal was a letter from the French ambassador praising the young Private Kersh’s contribution to the liberation of France.
The ambassador wrote:“We must never forget heroes like you who came from Britain and the Commonwealth to begin the liberation of Europe by liberating France.
“We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life.”
Now 90, Mr Kersh still has vivid memories of the moment he and his comrades came ashore to be met with a lethal German bombardment.
He said:“We slept most of the way across the Channel and when we arrived there was a sea of boats. It was quite amazing.
“Our commanding officer assembled all 800 of us and told us that 10 of our officers would be sent as the first reconnaissance unit landing on D-Day.
Sadly, a torpedo hit the advance party, and they were all killed except one.
“We had to re-group and arrived from Gosport on June 8, where our role was to get the tanks and vehicles off the vessels and on to dry land. My job, as technical clerk, was to ensure we never ran out of supplies.
“We were greeted by people who wanted to give us wine and kisses. I didn’t take the wine just in case it was poisoned but I took the kisses.
He recalled the liberation of Bayeux in mid-June, 12 miles in-land from the Normandy coast, and his joy at attending a synagogue service there with Allied servicemen, “many of whom spoke in Yiddish”.
Mr Kersh, who is president of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, branch in Southgate,north London, said:“I was the only Jewish person in my unit, I had a few problems with antisemitism but I had been champion boxer at school so I let them know. You had to show you weren’t weak.”