Sir Elton John has received the highest acknowledgement in a new year honours list in which hundreds of ordinary people were recognised alongside household names from sport, the arts, entertainment and politics.

The singer and songwriter was awarded the Companion of Honour for a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, in which he has sold more than 300m records worldwide, and used his fame to promote the work of 23 charities, including his own Aids foundation. He becomes one of only 64 people apart from the monarch who can hold the honour at any one time.

The musician tweeted: “I’m humbled and honoured to be among such highly esteemed company in receiving the Companion of Honour. 2019 has turned out to be a truly wonderful year for me and I feel extraordinarily blessed.”

Another big entertainer on the list was Olivia Newton-John. The British-born singer, campaigner and actor, best known for starring in the film Grease, was made a dame for services to charity, cancer research and entertainment.

The honours list, which was drawn up and approved during Theresa May’s premiership, rewards a glittering lineup of well-known figures from arts and sport. But the vast majority (72%) of the 1,097 to be recognised were people who work in their communities.

This year disabled people are better represented than for many years, with 120 individuals receiving awards, 11% of the total number.

Among those to be knighted for their work in public service, were Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the NHS in England, for his 31 years in the health service, and his “vigorous public case for improved funding”.

Prof Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, received the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and a number of academics working to combat climate change were also recognised. These included Sarah Whatmore, professor of environment and public policy at the University of Oxford, who became a dame for her work addressing the threat from flooding.

In politics, some opposition MPs criticised a knighthood being given to Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader and the architect of universal credit while he was work and pensions secretary. In April the Institute for Fiscal Studies found universal credit disproportionately reduced incomes among poorer adults.

A Labour spokesman said it was “unfortunate to see that … the primary architect of the cruel universal credit system, which has pushed thousands of people into poverty” had been rewarded.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alison Saunders, formerly the director of public prosecutions. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Guardian

Also likely to be controversial is the decision to make Alison Saunders, the former director of public prosecutions, a dame. She ended her five-year term as DPP in October last year amid criticism over the collapse of several rape trials after the failure of the prosecution to disclose evidence. A report by MPs in July 2018 accused her of not sufficiently recognising “the extent and seriousness of the failures of disclosure by police” and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The honours did not recognise any of the heroic actions of individuals during the recent London Bridge terrorist attack but organisers said they were expected to be considered in future lists. More awards will be handed out early next year when the dissolution honours – drawn up by the outgoing government before a general election – are published.

Honours for those involved in the aftermath of the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy would not be considered until the conclusion of the public inquiry.

The arts were well recognised, with British director Sam Mendes being knighted for his work in film and theatre. Mendes, who has directed two Bond films as well as multiple international theatre productions, said he was “amazed, delighted and extremely proud”.

The writer Rose Tremain was made a dame, as was the Liberal Democrat peer and former children’s TV presenter Floella Benjamin.

The artist and director Steve McQueen, who received worldwide recognition in 2014 for his Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave, was knighted.

In the world of sport, members of the World Cup-winning England cricket team were acknowledged, including the captain, Eoin Morgan, and vice-captain, Ben Stokes, as were leading figures in women’s sport.

The playwright James Graham, also known for the film Brexit: The Uncivil War, which charted the EU referendum leave campaign run by Dominic Cummings, received an OBE for services to drama and to young people in British theatre following his work at the National Youth Theatre.

Disability rights campaigner Jack Marshall honoured Read more

From the world of cookery and entertainment, the chef Ainsley Harriott and Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain were made MBEs, while the food writer Nigel Slater received an OBE for services to cookery and literature.

The TV presenter Gok Wan said he was “excited and humbled” to be recognised in the honours. The host of How to Look Good Naked was made an MBE for services to fashion and social awareness.

The youngest recipient of an award was 13, while the oldest was Wilf Oldham, 99, from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, a veteran of the Battle of Arnhem, who was made an MBE.

“I was very surprised, of course, because it’s the last thing I ever expected,” he said. “I’m a very humble man and I feel very proud because obviously somebody recommended me or put my name forward.”

D-day veteran Harry Billinge, 94, from St Austell in Cornwall, whose fundraising efforts have made headlines around the world, was made an MBE for services to charity.

More than half of the awards, 51%, went to women, who were better represented than in previous years. Forty-four percent of recipients of the highest awards were female.