Hero Simon battles on

In the first half of a two-part interview for Sorted, Simon Weston talks about losing friends, forgiving enemies and battling on.

Q: You’ve received an OBE, a CBE and an honorary doctorate – to name just a few of your awards and honours! Which ones mean the most to you?

As a soldier, I saw my fair share of aggression and roughness and I was a part of some of it as well, but what left a mark on my heart more than anything was kindness, decency and humanity. Moments of heroism, moments of courage – moments of sheer terror, and people doing it anyway. That’s what stays with me more than anything else. That’s why the awards mean so much to me, because it’s a recognition of my efforts. It’s really kind that somebody nominated me and I always feel thrilled.

All the awards are immensely emotive, and each one is special in its own way – particularly the ones voted for by the general public.

The Freedom of the City of Liverpool was special because Liverpool took me to their hearts. ...