£4M CAPTAIN FANTASTIC!
War hero Tom, 99, goes on charity walk around his garden every day ... and raises fortune for NHS
HE decided to mark the approach of his 100th birthday by raising £1,000 for the NHS to repay the dedication of the doctors and nurses who treated him.
But Captain Tom Moore’s ten-day charity walk around his garden has captured the hearts of the nation so much that he has already raised an incredible £4.1million.
The Second World War veteran, who uses a wheeled walking frame following hip replacement surgery, began doing ten 25-metre (82ft) laps a day at the start of last week. He had intended to stop this week after completing a total of 2,500 metres – more than 1.5 miles – but now says he will carry on as long as the money continues to roll in.
Retired civil engineer Mr Moore, who turns 100 on April 30, was amazed to watch as the amount pledged to NHS Charities Together trebled during the day yesterday.
As the total raced past £2million, he posted on Twitter: ‘No words left... just thank you. I salute you all.’
‘I may be walking in my garden to raise money but this is the British public’s contribution.
‘Thanks for joining me on this mission for our heroes at this very challenging and saddening time in the world. We stand united.’ He added: ‘When you think of who it is all for – all those brave and super doctors and nurses we have got – I think they deserve every penny.’
Mr Moore launched his online fundraising page on April 6, pledging to do daily walks around his garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, as a thank-you for the ‘ marvellous’ NHS care he received during his hip operation and treatment for skin cancer on his head.
By last night more than 150,000 donors had contributed. Messages included: ‘ What a hero! Absolutely brilliant what you’re doing for our NHS!’
His daughter Hannah IngramMoore, who set up the page for him, has had to increase the target three times – from £1,000 to £ 100,000, then £ 250,000 and £500,000. As even that figure was smashed, she tweeted: ‘We are overwhelmed by the response. It’s extraordinary.
‘We remain proud and humbled by the generosity of the British public.’
Grammar school-educated Mr Moore, originally from Keighley, West Yorkshire, enlisted in 145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps at the beginning of the war. He was selected for officer training in 1940 and rose to the rank of captain.
Mr Moore was posted to India and fought in the Arakan Campaign of 1942-3, when the Allies pushed back against the Japanese in Burma. After the war he became an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset.
He has lived with his daughter, her husband and their two children for 12 years.
Speaking previously about the appeal, Mrs Ingram-Moore, a manager at a recruitment company, said: ‘He turns 100 on April 30 and my sister and I had been planning a huge party for him but obviously we can’t do that now. But he told us he wanted to do 100 lengths of the garden before he turns 100.
‘We were watching him the other day walk down the driveway and I just thought, “Wouldn’t this be a really cool thing for him to do?”’.
The money is going to NHS Charities Together, the national membership organisation for health service charities giving support for front line workers. Among other things, it will provide wellbeing packs for staff,
Donate at www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/tomswalkforthenhs
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‘Really cool thing for him to do’