National Post (National Edition)
WWII vet raised cash, spirits with yard walks
Queen, Johnson pay tribute to his charm, tenacity
MARSTON MORETAINE • Britain’s Captain Tom Moore, the Second World War veteran who lifted a nation’s spirits by raising millions for health service workers battling the coronavirus, died on Tuesday aged 100 after he contracted COVID-19.
Moore struck a chord with locked-down Britain by walking around his garden with the help of a frame to raise $68 million for the National Health Service.
His endeavour and wit spread joy amid the grim news of the coronavirus outbreak: Moore’s message to the world was that the sun would shine again and that the clouds would clear.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore,” his daughters said in a statement following his death on Tuesday at Bedford Hospital.
Over the last five years, he had been receiving treatment for prostate and skin cancer, his family said. He was fighting pneumonia and was taken to hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 22, unable to be vaccinated due to the other medication he was taking.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth led the tributes to Moore.
“Captain Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word,” said Johnson. “He became not just a national inspiration but a beacon of hope for the world.” The flag above his Downing Street office was lowered to half-mast in Moore’s honour.
The Queen, who knighted Moore last summer, will send a message of private condolence to the family, Buckingham Palace said, adding the 94-year-old monarch had “very much enjoyed meeting Captain Sir Tom.”
When Moore, dressed in a blazer and tie, started his sponsored walk at his home in the village of Marston Moretaine, 80 km north of London, he hoped to raise £1,000. Instead, he amassed a world record sum for the National Health Service.
Such was his fame that his 100th birthday was marked by a message from Johnson, a promotion to the rank of colonel and flypasts above his home.
“I never, ever anticipated ever in my life anything like this, it really is amazing,” Moore said when he turned 100 on April 30. “Thank you very much to everyone, wherever you are.”