A 99-year-old army veteran has this week inadvertently galvanised the British public from his back garden and has raised millions of pounds for the NHS Charities Together in the process!
Captain Tom Moore completed 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden at a time when much of the world remains in lockdown due to the coronavirus.
Mr Moore had initially hoped to raise £1,000, to thank the ‘magnificent’ NHS staff after his recent treatment for a broken hip and cancer, but that figure is a distant memory as his JustGiving page reaches the £28,500,000 mark!
Mr Moore said: “I thank the British public from the bottom of my heart.”
“Who would have thought that when I set a target of £1,000 a week ago, it could have reached all this!” he added.
Mr Moore was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire and trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the army for World War Two. He rose to captain and served in India and Burma.
“I do [laps] each day so that eventually I’ll get to 100, then after that, I shall continue and do some more.
“Let’s all carry on and remember that things will get better. We have had problems before – we have overcome them – and we shall all overcome the same thing again,” Mr Moore said.
A breath of fresh air at this challenging time
Charity Today editor Lee Rayment, feels the spirit and resilience of such a man are just what this country needs right now, he said:
“He reminds me of my grandfather, Private James Smith, who was also in the Burma war, he has since passed, but what a fantastic generation they are! The country has warmed to Mr Moore, we need strength and compassion like his right now, and he epitomises everything great about this country.”
For more information or to donate to Mr Moore’s appeal, please click here.
Tom is enjoying singing along to @lilytwsoprano in the sunshine today – it’s the small things in life isn’t it? – Hannah (Tom’s daughter) #walkwithtom #TomorrowWillBeAGoodDay pic.twitter.com/2JHzwzaQGM
— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore) April 12, 2020
