War veteran Captain Tom Moore has truly captured the hearts of the nation over the last week.
The 99-year old set himself a target of raising £1,000 for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his 25m garden in Bedfordshire before he turns 100 years old at the end of the month. Instead, he has walked more than 100 lengths, raised over £26 million and risen to the status of near-national treasure.
Mr Moore trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the army for the Second World War. He rose to the position of captain and served in India and Burma. Inspired by the work of medical staff working on the front line, Captain Tom had wanted to thank NHS staff who had helped him with cancer treatment and a broken hip.
Mr Moore quickly met his target of raising £1,000. Soon, he had raised over £1 million – and the donations just kept pouring in. In a matter of days, the Captain became a social media phenomenon and had raised £12m by the time he finished his original walk of 100-lengths of his garden.
Speaking moments after completing his walk, his tone struck a chord with many people throughout the country;
“To all those people who are finding it difficult at the moment,”
“The sun will shine on you again, and the clouds will go away.”
By early evening on the same day of completing the walk, Captain Tom Moore’s Just Giving page had received donations totalling over £15m.
That total just keeps growing and growing, causing the JustGiving website to receive record levels of donations and crash on occasions due to the number of people trying to donate.
To date, Captain Moore’s fundraising page has received donations from over 1.2 million people. The number of donors keeps rising, as does the fundraising total, which stood at over £26 million on Sunday evening.
Plus, it’s not just walking that Tom Moore has been doing. The 99-year-old has recorded a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone with Michael Ball, which has gone to number one in the iTunes chart. The version of the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein song, which also features the NHS Voices for Care Choir, is to raise money for the NHS alongside the Captain’s ongoing walking appeal.
It has been confirmed that Captain Moore is to be guest of honour at the opening of a Nightingale hospital in Harrogate. The veteran, who was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, is set to appear video link at the opening on Tuesday. There have also been calls for the Captain to be knighted.
It has been another difficult week amid the Coronavirus pandemic, but also one in which Captain Tom Moore has inspired millions.
To donate to NHS Charities Together through Captain Tom Moore’s Walk Campaign, visit JustGiving.
Photo Source: JustGiving
