Sir Nicholas Winton's son, Nick, told the 300 guests at an HMD cere-mony at Leeds Town Hall on Sunday that his late father was "a good example of the flow of life.

"We all swim in the same ocean," he said. "The ripples of what each one of us does spreads out wider and further across our family, friends and communities. We all have a choice in life and it's in our hands how big a splash we can all make."

Including children and grandchildren of those on the Kindertransport, the legacy of Sir Nicholas is 5,000 lives and his son drew a parallel with the current refugee situation.

He told his audience that in 1938, his father contacted the Home Office to find out under what conditions refugee children would be permitted to enter the UK.

The response was that "it was possible, under certain circumstances, to bring in unaccompanied children providing that each child should have a family willing to provide a home for them, with a guarantee of £50 enabling their repatriation after the 'emergency' was over".

On the HMD theme of Don't Stand By, he said action could "sometimes be as simple as giving a word of encouragement to those in difficulty. Sometimes more is needed."