Tom Moore’s new marathon challenge... no, not that Tom!
WHEN Captain Tom Moore captured the hearts of the nation raising millions of pounds for the NHS, the ‘other’ Tom Moore was none the wiser.
Fed up with the gloom-ridden news cycles filling our television screens with countless coronavirus deaths, 70-year-old Tom shut himself out from it all – instead focusing on his garden and trying to keep spirits high.
It was only after receiving a barrage of messages from his friends about the fundraising centenarian, of which he shares the same name, did he finally do a bit of research.
Inspired by Captain Tom Moore – the Second World War veteran who raised £32million for the NHS from a £1000 target by walking 100 laps of his garden – ‘the other Tom’, from Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, set out to measure his back garden.
By luck, it measured exactly 100 yards – making calculations easy for any challenge.
He opted to walk a marathon in seven days in support of St Vincent’s Hospice – a charity close to his heart who helped care for his wife Anne during her final days following her diagnosis with ovarian cancer.
And he did so in fancy dress – each day in a different costume.
Tom said: “Rightly, at the beginning of all this pandemic the emphasis was on the NHS and the heroes that are putting their lives at risk, and the money was getting thrown to them.
A FORMER Glasgow GP who became the first person in a decade to reach the final question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire hopes to use his winnings to see the world.
Andrew Townsley, who worked at Newhills Medical Practice in Easterhouse, won £500,000 on the ITV show on
“Then the care sector was saying ‘we need some support too’, but there is another sector – the hospice sector.” Following the death of her dad who was also cared for at St Vincent’s, Tom’s wife Anne – despite working two jobs already – gave up her own time to volunteer for the hospice for around 10 years. She continued to work up until around two months before her death in January 2017.
Tom added: “The hospice, while it does get some money from government, is very, very reliant on fundraising and donations and the charity shops.
“It is a disgrace, like that, but it is.
“So it’s so important to raise money for St Vincent’s but to raise
Tuesday night after leaving Jeremy Clarkson’s winning question about the history of motor sport unanswered.
The Glasgow Uni graduate whizzed through 14 questions with correct answers and had viewers across the country on the edge of their seats.
Speaking on ITV’s This it shouldn’t be
Morning, a delighted Mr Townsley said he hoped to use the money to travel when the coronavirus pandemic is over.
The 53-year-old, who has progressive MS and is currently the awareness of what hospices do, how good they are and how they need to be funded.”
Much like the Captain, Tom started off with a reasonable target of £500.
Now, having completed the challenge of 470 circuits, he has raised nearly £8000, with the total increasing by the hour.
Refreshing his fundraising total, he added: “It really restores your faith in human nature.
“With all the terrible things that have been happening, it’s just brilliant.
“Captain Tom was the inspiration for all of this.
“If he inspires folk, and with what I’m doing I inspire folk to realise that hospices need to be kept up to date, that will do me.”
You can help donate to Tom’s cause for St Vincent’s by searching: https://bit.ly/2AqJFjV
housebound, said: “Once the world recovers, I can have some thoughts about. But, with the MS, I am restricted and stuck in the house until this time next year at the earliest. We’d love to visit Niagara Falls.”