The late war-time hero, Sir Nicholas Winton, will be rewarded with the rare honour of a postage stamp after an online petition gathered more than 100,000 supporters.

The petition was set up by Jewish News in conjunction with the Holocaust Memorial Trust following the death of Sir Nicholas - who during his wartime heroics helped rescued a man who later went on to work for the Bucks Free Press.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Now we have consulted with his family, we are delighted to confirm our intention to feature Sir Nicholas on a stamp as part of a commemorative set, subject to the appropriate approvals, in 2016. The details will be confirmed in due course.

“One of the purposes of Royal Mail stamps is to honour those who have made important contributions to the UK, and every year we consider hundreds of subjects for inclusion. It is clear that Sir Nicholas Winton is a worthy candidate.”

Sir Nicholas Winton - who is honoured with a statue at Maidenhead Station - was dubbed the ‘British Schindler” after he rescued 660 children from the clutches of Nazi control by organising trains out of occupied Prague to London.

One of the children he rescued was former Bucks Free Press journalist, the late Harry Warschauer.

Sir Nicholas died last month at the age of 106 on the exact day of the anniversary of the departure of the train carrying 241 children, the largest over the course of his rescue mission.

Editor of the Jewish News, Justin Cohen, spoke out following Royal Mail’s announcement, saying: “Sir Nicholas shied away from the ‘hero’ label but we could think of no one more deserving of this rare honour.

“His inspirational story shows that one person truly can make a difference and we hope the stamp will bring his heroic efforts to the attention of even more people.”

The stamp will have to gain approval from the Queen before it officially goes ahead.