King's Birthday Honours: Holocaust survivor who educates children gets medal

Icek Jankel Alterman got involved in Holocaust education five years ago

A man who survived the Holocaust has been honoured by the King for his work educating schoolchildren about the atrocity.

Icek Jankel Alterman, 95, survived concentration camps and a Nazi death march as a child before being liberated by Russian forces on 9 May 1945.

He said he was "over the moon" to receive the British Empire Medal (BEM).

He said he decided to speak out about his wartime experiences because it was "important people know what happened".

"I lost all of my family; there are people who do not what happened in the Holocaust and they need to know," he said.

"I tell young people it is very important they help all people in need."

Mr Alterman lost both of his parents in the Holocaust and came over to the UK with more than 700 Jewish orphans.

He settled in Manchester and eventually had a successful career as a jeweller, before retiring in his 70s.

He said he decided on his 90th birthday to speak out because so many other survivors were had since died or were no longer able to for mental or physical reasons.

He has since given talks to more than 8,000 people across North-West England, the majority of whom were young people.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said Ch Supt Emily Higham was "a dedicated police officer"

A man who has been a stalwart of grassroots football in the east of Manchester has also been awarded the BEM

Tony McAlister has been a coach, administrator and charity fundraiser in Gorton since he formed a pub team in 1990.

The 60-year-old said he just enjoyed "everything about grassroots football, from playing to the secretarial side".

"I've always enjoyed it [and] I'll do it as long as I can," he added.

Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) district commander for Wigan, who led a crackdown on gun crime, has also been honoured for her distinguished career.

Ch Supt Emily Higham, who has been in the police for 28 years, has been awarded the King's Policing Medal (KPM).

In 2017, she became the first female detective superintendent in the force's serious and organised crime unit.

GMP said under her leadership, gun crime reduced significantly and weapon seizures increased, while her stewardship of the North West Regional and Organised Crime Unit saw it become the best rated in the country.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said she was "a dedicated police officer who has always retained an obvious relish for putting criminals on the back foot".

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