The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)

Queen bestows knighthood on fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore

- BY TONY JONES

National hero Captain Sir Tom Moore has received his knighthood from the Queen in recognitio­n of his outstandin­g achievemen­t raising almost £33 million for the NHS.

The Second World War veteran’s extraordin­ary year was capped when the Queen dubbed him a knight with her father’s sword.

Staged in the open air, in the imposing setting of Windsor Castle’s quadrangle, the ceremony saw the 100-year-old former Army officer joined by his family.

The Queen has been shielding at her famous Berkshire home for much of the lockdown with the Duke of Edinburgh, and the event was her first face-toface royal engagement with a member of the public since March – albeit with social distancing.

Capt Sir Tom had set out to raise £1,000 by walking 100 laps of his garden in the village of Marston Moretaine before his 100th birthday on April 30.

But his efforts struck a chord with national feeling, and praise and donations flooded in, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the veteran “provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronaviru­s” and recommende­d he be knighted.

The head of state’s arrival into the quadrangle was signalled by the sound of bagpipes played by the Queen’s Piper, Pipe Major Richard Grisdale, of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Earlier, the Queen and

Duke of Edinburgh and other close family attended the unannounce­d wedding of their granddaugh­ter Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a nearby chapel.

The monarch was joined in the quadrangle by the Master of the Household, retired Vice Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt.

Waiting was Capt Sir Tom and his family – daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, son-in-law Colin Ingram, grandson Benjie and granddaugh­ter Georgia.

With her father’s sword in her hand, the Queen lightly touched him first on his right shoulder then his left with the blade – dubbing him a knight.

 ??  ?? Sir Tom with his medal
Sir Tom with his medal

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