Well-wishers included the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who told Captain Tom in a video message: “Your heroic efforts have lifted the spirits of the entire nation. The Royal Family confirmed that the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, the Queen's representative in the county, had also delivered in person a birthday card from the monarch to Captain Tom. She was great."Ĭaptain Tom's fundraising total passed £30 million on April 30 - the day of his 100th birthday - and by the end of the charity campaign he had become a much-loved household name after extensive coverage and public tributes.Ī special flypast was held for Captain Tom's 100th birthday with two RAF planes, a Hurricane and a Spitfire, which took place over his village in Bedfordshire. She did a little song for us so it really boosted the morale of everybody. "This charming young lady appeared, turned out to be Vera Lynn," he said. He also reminisced about hearing the Forces' Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn, who in June passed away aged 103, serenading him and other soldiers. Post-war, he returned to the UK and started work as an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Dorset.Īs the nation came together to honour its war heroes on May 8, the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Captain Sir Tom Moore reminisced about how his troops were "under fire constantly" and there was "an element of discomfort" during the Second World War. He then served and fought in the Arakan, west Burma, which has since been renamed Rakhine State. In 1940, Sir Capt Tom was selected for officer training and rose to the rank of captain, going on to receive a promotion to 9 DWR in India. This was an infantry unit that was converted to operate Churchill tanks as part of the Royal Armoured Corps. He soon became a much-loved household name, with his fundraising page receiving more than 1.5 million individual donations and extensive coverage of his extraordinary life story.īorn in Keighley, West Yorkshire on April 30 1920, Captain Tom completed a civil engineering apprenticeship before joining the Army, and was enlisted into the eighth battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (8 DWR).
On April 6, two weeks into Britain's lockdown, he began to walk laps around his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together, and initially hoped to raise £1,000 in funds by the time he turned 100.
"Captain Sir Tom and his family were hopeful the investiture could take place in a timely fashion and we are pleased it has been possible on this occasion."Ĭapt Sir Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore told BBC Breakfast this morning: "It is just the most sensational day - of all the things Tom has been honoured by, this is just truly the absolute icing on the cake."Ĭaptain Tom Moore knighted after 100 extraordinary yearsĬapt Sir Tom has received a knighthood after raising a total of £32.7 million for NHS charities via a Just Giving page at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. On announcing the conferment of the honour, Mr Johnson described Capt Sir Tom Moore as "a true national treasure" who "embodied the national solidarity that has grown throughout this crisis".Ī Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "On occasion, the Queen invests individuals privately during audiences. The knighthood was approved by the Queen, and formally announced on May 20. The knighthood also comes at a time when the royal investitures have generally been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.īoris Johnson made a special nomination for the Army officer to be knighted on May 19, and said that he had provided the country with "a beacon of light". Capt Sir Tom Moore's knighthood is unusual in that it was announced individually by the Prime Minister outside of the Queen's Birthday Honours and the New Year's Honours.
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