A gong for Captain Tom? Boris Johnson will ‘look at ways to recognise’ WWII hero

Second World War hero Captain Tom Moore will be rewarded with an honour by the Prime Minister after he completed the final 10 lengths of his garden on a zimmer frame and raised a staggering £16million for the NHS.

The 99-year-old has captured the imagination of the public during the coronavirus lockdown with his heroics and finished his 2,530-yard walk at his home in the Bedfordshire village of Marston Moretaine with a huge smile today.

Following the achievement, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said today: ‘Tom has demonstrated a lifetime of bravery and compassion. The PM will certainly be looking at ways to recognise Tom and his efforts’.

Before Captain Moore started the final leg of his challenge in the morning sunshine today, he was saluted as he stepped out with his frame by four soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment who had travelled to support him.

He was given a rousing greeting on the final stretch of his walk that has seen money donated from people in 53 countries. The Second World War veteran bowed his head and smiled as his chest of medals on his suit glinted.

Speaking after finishing, an emotional Captain Moore told BBC Breakfast: ‘I never ever dreamt I would be involved in such an occasion. We’re doing so well, and knowing that the reason we started off was for the NHS.

He added: ‘I think you’ve all got to remember that we will get through it in the end, it will all be right but it might take time. All the people finding it difficult at the moment, the sun will shine again and the clouds will go away.’

Michael Ball then sang You’ll Never Walk Alone from his home, after telling him: ‘It’s an extraordinary achievement. I’ve been trying to think of a song which encapsulates your achievement and what you have done for us.’

Asked about the song, Captain Moore said: ‘First of all, Michael is such a super singer. I think it’s true that people, we will not walk alone, wherever you are there are other people thinking about you thinking that soon everything will be better and we will all be smiling again.’

After sitting down alongside his daughter he watched a compilation of sportsmen and celebrities praising him for his achievement, including cricketer Ben Stokes, former racing driver Damon Hill and TV personality Judge Judy.

The colonel of his former regiment, Brigadier Andrew Jackson, described him as a ‘legend’. Later tears welled up in Captain Moore’s eyes during a BBC Breakfast interview when told he had been an inspiration to millions. 

Asked about what he thinks about potentially being knighted, Captain Moore told the programme: ‘It would be marvellous to have such an honour but I don’t expect anything like that. I think it would be absolutely enormous if i was knighted, to be Sir Thomas Moore, I have never heard of anything like that before

And speaking about the Queen, he added: ‘I think the Queen is marvellous and doing such a terrific job because all the time she’s been queen she has been the leader of the country – and I have the highest regard for her. I hope she continues as queen for a very long time.

And on his 100th birthday on April 30, Captain Moore said: ‘Well originally we were going to have a big party here with all my friends and relations and we were all imagining what it would be like.

‘For so long people have said ‘are you going to have a birthday party?’ probably hoping be invited, but I’m afraid that can’t happen now because they all have to stay six metres away from me.

‘But today really is something special with all you here and all the kind people watching and all you presenting money. And that is enough for me – and I hope you’re all well enough to be here when we do have a proper party.

‘But that won’t happen for while because we are going to be locked in for a bit longer. I do feel for people in a very confined space for week after week, it must be very, very difficult – and I present my congratulations to all of you who are sticking to the rules and staying in your own homes.’

Captain Moore has now set his sights on raising £20million for the NHS, telling MailOnline: ‘As long as people want to give money, then I am going to keep walking. People have been generous and it is marvellous that so much money has been offered.

‘Who knows how much we will finally get, but it would be great to get even more so that it can go to the NHS. If we could get £15million or £20million that would be wonderful.’

Told that he was now the largest individual fundraiser ever on the JustGiving website, he added: ‘That is a nice record to break. Records are there to be broken and I’m very happy that it is this cause that has benefited so much.

The 99-year-old gave the thumbs up and enjoyed a welcome hug from his daughter and grandchildren as he posed for the media following his 100th lap of his garden.

The war veteran had a rest after the exertions of his early morning walk to complete the 100 laps of his garden. ‘Just a little rest,’ he joked.

But within an hour he was back pushing his wheeled Zimmer frame around the paved area of the large garden as he chatted with his grandson Benji, 16, and granddaughter Georgia,11.

He had been thrilled to meet soldiers from the modern day version of the regiment he had served in after being conscripted in 1940 when he was 20 years old.

Captain Moore said seeing the soldiers give him a guard of honour had given him a boost as he walked the final lap.

‘They were great lads and so nice that they could be here,’ he said. ‘I was with the Duke of Wellington’s regiment that was formed into the Yorkshire Regiment where they are from. It was lovely to see them here.’

His grandson Benji said the war veteran was an inspiration to people his age, adding: ‘I’ve always known what a strong character he was and if anyone was going to do this it was our granddad.

‘He’s a proud Yorkshireman and what he has achieved is just incredible and makes me so proud. I know he will want to keep walking so long as people are still giving money. He will not want to give up as he is giving so much hope to many others in these hard times.’

Claire Baxter, who works for his local surgery and spotted his skin cancer, said today that she was ‘teary’ about his achievements, adding: ‘We’re very proud of him, we adore him and we are honoured to be able to look after him.

‘He is a true gentleman. I do truly love him. He is every time he comes in. He’s seen me since May twice a week for dressings and he comes in always with a smile on his face – how I am, how my family are. We both enjoy Formula One, so we talk about that. He’s a joy to see. We miss him very much but we’re glad he’s safe and well.’

Speaking about his health, Captain Moore told ITV’s This Morning: ‘My health is fine, I’m fine because of the NHS. When I broke my hip and when I got cancer on my head they treated me so well. They deserve every penny they get.

‘Our own national service is absolutely beyond, it does so well and at the moment all the staff out there putting themselves in mortal danger every day, they go onto duty and they do it cheerfully whatever the outcome is.

‘They will know that at that time they all came and did so well. All the doctors, nurses and backup staff are all doing a marvellous job for the whole nation.

‘The war that we’re dealing with at the moment, with this invisible enemy, the doctors the nurses who are putting themselves in mortal danger are on the frontline and we’re the back up.

‘It’s our job to give them everything they need to do their job properly because they’ve done it with such bravery.’

Ian Lush, chairman of NHS Charities Together, which Captain Moore is supporting, said: ‘It was extraordinary, I feel a particular personal connection because Captain Tom was in Burma in India at the end of the war, and so was my late father who was Major Cecil Lush of the engineers, and they may well have met.’

‘It’s extraordinary to see the amount of money and the outpouring of good will towards the NHS and towards all the NHS charities who will take good care of the money that he’s raising.

Asked what happens to the money, he said: ‘There are about 150 NHS charities which will benefit from this money, we are a membership organisation and now a huge fundraising organisation, I’m the chairman, and I run one of the 150 charities that’s Imperial Health Charity – we support three hospitals.

‘We’re spending money on supporting the staff in the crisis time, we’re supporting wellbeing, we’re doing pods for them to sleep in the hospitals so they don’t have to go home between shifts.

‘We’re doing counselling, we’re doing all sorts of stuff, but we’re also putting money aside so that we have money to see us through over the next 18 months or so to support the staff.

‘We also support patients and families with our welfare grants, so there’s lots of different ways the money will be used. We’re all charities with a lot of experience of using this sort of funds, so we’ll make sure it goes to the right places.’ 

His daughter Hannah Ingram Moore told MailOnline she was ‘astonished’ at the £12million so far raised by her father. ‘It is just incredible and I’m sure it is going to go higher when he finishes the walk’, she said. 

She added that her father had become ‘a beacon of hope for people’ in challenging times and that the donations were ‘beyond words’ as the country battles through a pandemic that has claimed more than 12,000 lives.

Ms Moore also said that the local postmaster had already been ‘inundated’ with messages ahead of Captain Moore’s 100th birthday, which is coming up in a fortnight’s time on April 30. 

Major Ian Atkins from the Yorkshire Regiment, which is the equivalent of Captain Moore’s in the modern day, said at his home today: ‘It’s an honour and a privilege for us to be here to support Tom in an outstanding achievement.

‘It’s absolutely fantastic stuff but over £12million is staggering. We see Tom as a member of the regimental family so to be here to support him is a privilege.’

The uniformed soldiers were on hand to cheer on the ‘captain fantastic’ as he steadily completed ten lengths of the garden of his home.

Director-general of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted his praise for Captain Moore, saying: ‘This is such an inspiring story and extraordinary act of solidarity! Thank you so much Capt Tom Moore for such a wonderful idea and lesson of humanity! Together, against #COVID19! #ThanksHealthHeroes’.

Earlier, Captain Moore had said that NHS workers on the frontline ‘deserve everything we can give them’, telling ITV: ‘I’ve always been one for having a future, I always think things will be good. We’ve fought so many battles and we’ve always won and we’re going to win again.’  

Such is the fame of Captain Moore, half a dozen police officers were stationed outside the front gate of the home he shares with his daughter and her family.

And Captain Moore told MailOnline rather than put his feet up for a well-deserved rest he plans to continue walking and raise even more money.

He said: ‘I have completed my 100 laps, but I am going to keep walking because I know that I have the incredible British public behind me every step of the way.

‘I am so completely overwhelmed by the support from everyone, and can’t thank you all enough for supporting my mission to raise money for our beloved NHS’. 

Hannah – whom he has lived with for 12 years – said she was bursting with pride at her father who celebrates his 100th birthday later this month.

She said: ‘We knew he could do 100 laps of the garden – no doubt about it, but we never in a million years expected to raise this amount of money.

‘The whole world is talking about Captain Tom Moore, and that makes me incredibly proud as his daughter. I have watched the whole nation fall in love my father, and he deserves all the love, recognition and support for his incredible mission. So thank you from us all.’

The Second World War hero, who joined the army in 1940 when he was 20 years old, had set out to raise £1,000 by slowly walking 100 lengths of his garden before celebrating his 100th birthday.

But inspired by messages of support flooding into his family he dashed off 90 lengths in a little over a week. He completed the final ten laps of the original challenge this morning.

He had wanted to raise the money to thank the NHS staff who had supported him through skin cancer treatment and a broken hip. As word of his fund-raising spread via social media he quickly surpassed the £1,000 total.

More than 180,000 people from around the world have so far donated to his fundraising page. The sum quickly passed a £1million and by yesterday – a week after he began his epic walk – the total was over £9million.

By completing the final lengths many more donations are expected – and MailOnline columnist Piers Morgan has called for him to be knighted.

Ellie Orton, chief executive of the charity on the receiving end of Captain Moore’s fundraising, said: ‘I think I absolutely join the rest of the country in being truly inspired and profoundly humbled by Captain Tom and what he has achieved. Thank you for being an inspiration and a role model.’

Captain Tom began the final laps at 7.45am today, watched by film crews from BBC and ITV. Before he started, he paid tribute to the NHS and said: ‘I feel fine, being in the Army I’m used to getting up early.’ 

The former Army officer has admitted to being stunned by the response to his fundraising efforts saying the support has been ‘absolutely fabulous’.

In a rallying call to the nation he added: ‘Let’s all carry on and remember that things will get better. We have had problems before – we have overcome them – and we shall all overcome the same thing again.’

The money the war hero has raised will go to NHS Charities Together to support workers on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak.

Captain Moore trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the army for the Second World War, rising to captain and serving in India and Myanmar.

He went on to serve on the Arakan in south east Asia before he returned to Britain to become an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington.

His achievements were singled out by Matt Hancock during yesterday’s press conference at Downing Street.

In his opening address, the Health Secretary said: ‘I want to pay a special tribute today to Captain Tom Moore. Captain Tom, you’re an inspiration to us all, and we thank you.’

At that point, donations had surpassed £8 million, but by just after 11pm yesterday the figure had risen by another £2million.

The military veteran wrote on Twitter: ’10 MILLION POUND! Virtutis Fortuna Comes.’

Earlier, he told BBC One: ‘I think that’s absolutely enormous. At no time when we started off with this exercise did we anticipate we’d get anything near that sort of money.

‘It just shows that people have such high regard for matters of our National Health Service and it’s really amazing that people have paid so much money.’

Meanwhile, an eight-year-old girl has started an online campaign for children to make birthday cards for Captain Moore’s 100th birthday.

Reegan Davies, from Port Talbot, South Wales, set a target of 1,500 virtual cards after posting a video online to thank him for his fundraising efforts.

She says in the video posted on Twitter: ‘You’ve got to make a birthday card for Tom, any social media you post it, and tag £makeacardfortom’.

JustGiving said Captain Moore has raised the largest total ever for a single campaign on the website.

A spokesman added: ‘To celebrate reaching the £10million milestone, and the completion of his 100 Laps Challenge, Blackbaud, JustGiving’s parent company, has donated £100,000 to NHS Charities Together through Captain Tom’s campaign. This is the largest donation JustGiving has ever made.

‘Captain Tom’s amazing campaign has broken lots of records – it’s the largest total raised on JustGiving, the fastest growing campaign on the platform and has attracted donations and media coverage from around the world.

‘In addition to today’s £100,000 donation, JustGiving abolished platform fees in March 2019 and moved to a voluntary contributions model. This change has saved £20million for charities since in the last year.’

Donations to NHS Charities Together on Captain Tom Moore’s JustGiving page can be made here

Zimmer of hope for the world: How WWII hero Captain Tom, 99, become a beacon of light in the planet’s darkest days with 10 daily laps around his garden to raise more than £16million for the NHS

It has been a rare piece of good news in a world full of fear at the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed more than 130,000 lives globally.

And people from 53 different countries have now donated £16million to Captain Tom Moore’s fundraiser for the NHS as he achieved his goal of 100 laps of his garden.

The Second World War veteran completed his target of laps at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, today – a fornight before his 100th birthday on April 30.  

Captain Moore’s story has been picked up by newspapers and TV networks around the world in recent days, from The Times of Israel to The Phuket News in Thailand.

Other news outlets providing coverage have included The Jakarta Post in Indonesia, France 24, Al Jazeera in Qatar and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Captain Moore has raised more than £12million so far on his JustGiving page, despite having an initial target of £1,000 when he began fundraising just over a week ago. 

The fundraising campaign was launched last Thursday, and soon hit its initial target within the first 24 hours. By Saturday, he reached a second target of £100,000. 

But the campaign then really gained momentum after he appeared on BBC Radio 2 and spoke to the singer Michael Ball, getting the funds to £250,000 by Sunday.

Tuesday saw the £1million level hit, before Captain Moore got to £5million yesterday morning. By late afternoon it was at £8million – and the figure got to £10million at 11pm last night. 

Asked about the rapid rise in donations, Captain Moore told the Daily Mail: ‘Suddenly we were on £50,000. Then £100,000. Now the figures are just unbelievable.

‘Three, four, five million. I turn my back for a few minutes, and it’s shot up again. It’s astonishing money. The sort of money you just can’t visualise. 

‘The response has been miraculous. It’s been a bit of a surprise and I am so grateful that everyone seems to want to support it.’

Among those praising his efforts from abroad in a compilation video shown on BBC Breakfast today was former New York judge Judy Sheindlin, better known as TV personality Judge Judy.

She said: ‘Captain Moore, we are truly impressed on this side of the pond. I think you are remarkable, I think what you have done is an inspiration, so congratulations.’

Captain Moore completed the final four of the laps at his home this morning, with a special guard of honour by the 1st battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment.

Speaking at the finish line, he said he felt ‘fine’ and that he was ‘surrounded by the right sort of people’.

Of the coronavirus pandemic, he told BBC Breakfast: ‘We will get through it in the end but it might take time, but at the end of the day we shall all be okay again.’ 

He said plans for his party have been affected by the virus, and he joked everyone would have to keep six metres away from him ‘because I must be something horrid’.

He added that the national outpouring of love and support for him was ‘a party enough for me’.

Captain Moore was given a special mention in a press briefing yesterday by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who described him as an ‘inspiration’.

After being told he had become the largest single fundraiser for the JustGiving donation site, Captain Moore said he would continue with his fundraising. 

There have been multiple calls for him to receive a knighthood for his charitable actions, and there is an online campaign for children to make him birthday cards.

His daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, told the BBC that the amount raised was ‘beyond our wildest expectations’.