The story of Captain Sir Tom Moore is so inspirational that it deserves a blog. Besides, we all need a “good feeling” story at the moment.
Many of you will know his story, but it deserves repeating as often as possible.
Captain Tom Moore was a veteran of World War II, who served with the British forces in Burma. His life after the War was successful, but relatively uneventful. He raised a family, ran a small business and was a respected member of his community. A good solid citizen.
His anonymity changed in 2020.
He decided, along with his daughter, that the British health workers deserved support, as they fought the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather than just talk about it, or contribute the money he could afford, he decided to act. He was 99 years old, at that point.
He decided to try and raise £1,000 by walking 100 laps of his garden before he turned a hundred years old. He dressed up, with his military medals adorning his blazer, and began his journey around his garden, assisted by his National Health supplied “walker”.
Word spread quickly, and his quest became a nationwide, and then worldwide, phenomenon. The money poured in.
The final lap of his journey was competed in front of a Royal Air Force honour guard, with full TV coverage.
He was invited to Buckingham Palace for a special ceremony, where Her Majesty The Queen made him a knight of the realm. His hundredth birthday was celebrated with a Spitfire and Hurricane fly-by, and he received over 140,000 birthday cards, from all parts of the world.
Captain Sir Tom Moore died on February 2, 2021 with tributes coming from Queen Elizabeth, the British Prime Minister and millions of people the world over.
His goal of raising £1,000 had been easily surpassed. At his death, the total amount his efforts had raised to support healthcare workers was £32 million.
A story to make us all feel good, to inspire us by his example, and a story that should go down in future British history books.
