Captain Tom, the Pandemic Hero that Raised $50m for the NHS, Dies at 100
by twistedsifter
When the Coronavirus struck last year, Captain Sir Tom Moore, a 99-year-old army veteran, wanted to do something to support the people in the NHS who had helped him through not only a cancer scare, but a fractured hip two years prior. He felt eternally grateful to the health care workers and knew the journey ahead for them battling COVID-19 would not be easy.
So he pledged to walk 100 laps of his garden, 50 meters at a time, before his 100th birthday. He hoped to raise £1,000 for NHS charities.
Some £38.9 million later, Captain Tom has inspired a whole nation, and drawn praise and admiration from all around the world. People were rooting for him from the four corners of the globe.
Last week, Moore’s daughter Hannah updated via Twitter, that her father had been battling pneumonia in recent weeks and was hospitalized this past Sunday for COVID-19. His death was announced yesterday, three months shy of his 101st birthday.
via The New York Times:
Born in Keighley, a town in Yorkshire, to a family of builders, Mr. Moore was trained as a civil engineer. In 1940, at 20, he was conscripted and assigned to the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment. First stationed in Cornwall, in southwestern England, he was chosen for officer’s training and deployed to India. He trained Indian recruits to ride motorcycles, a lifelong passion he had picked up as a boy.
Later, Mr. Moore was sent to Burma, now known as Myanmar. Mr. Moore returned home after the war and built a comfortable life as the manager of a concrete company. He remained energetic until his late 90s, mowing the lawn, tending a greenhouse and driving his own car. But two years ago he fell in his kitchen, breaking his hip and a rib and puncturing a lung.
His hospitalization left him with an enduring appreciation for the doctors and nurses of the National Health Service. [source]
via The New York Times:
Mr. Moore’s feat, which grew out of a challenge from his son-in-law, became a media sensation and in the process, Mr. Moore became a pop-culture phenomenon. His walks were broadcast by the BBC, CNN, NBC and Al Jazeera, and his face became a staple on the front page of British tabloids. Those newspapers nicknamed him Captain Tom, his military rank until he was made an honorary colonel by the Army Foundation College.
He negotiated a multi-book deal, recorded a chart-topping song and was granted a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, who came out of seclusion for the first time since the pandemic began to bestow the honor at Windsor Castle in July. [source]
The Queen is sending a private message of condolence to the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Her Majesty very much enjoyed meeting Captain Sir Tom and his family at Windsor last year. Her thoughts and those of the Royal Family are with them. pic.twitter.com/nl1krvoUlW
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 2, 2021
Thank you Captain Sir Tom Moore. Because of you, tomorrow will be a brighter day for so many more.
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