Tom Moore served in one of the battalions of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment that had been converted to operate on tanks as part of the Royal Armoured Corps. Photo / Supplied
Tom Moore served in one of the battalions of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment that had been converted to operate on tanks as part of the Royal Armoured Corps. Photo / Supplied
A 99-year-old World War II tank commander has raised more than $6.4 million for the NHS by walking length of his garden using a Zimmer frame.
Tom Moore set himself the target of completing 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden before his next birthday, at the end of this month.
The army veteran turns 100 on April 30. He has been raising funds for the NHS Charities Together organisation and says health workers are "national heroes".
Captain Tom, as he is known, has been completing 10 laps a day of his 25m garden, in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, since the weekend before Easter.
He reached his initial target of raising $2000 in only 24 hours and passed $206,000 a day later. After just one more day the total was over $517,000. By Tuesday evening more than 140,000 supporters had pledged over $6.4 million on Moore's JustGiving page.
Tom Moore, on one of his 10 daily laps of the 25-metre loop in his garden. Photo / Supplied
Born and brought up in Keighley, Yorkshire, Moore went to Keighley Grammar School and later completed an apprenticeship as a civil engineer.
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He enlisted into the eighth battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (8 DWR), an infantry unit thatoperated Churchill tanks as part of the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC).
Selected for officer training in 1940, he rose to the rank of captain and served in 8 DWR, later being posted to 9 DWR in India. He served and fought on the Arakan, western Burma - now known as Rakhine State - and went with his regiment to Sumatra after the Japanese surrender. On return to the UK he was an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington.
Moore has been treated in recent years by the NHS for skin cancer and a year and a half ago had an operation after suffering a broken hip. He told the BBC he had received "such marvellous service", particularly from nurses.
Captain Tom. Photo / Supplied
"The patience and kindness that I got from all of them, top to bottom, was absolutely amazing," he said.
"They've done so well for me and they're doing so well for everybody else at the moment, that I think we must say 'well done National Health Service'."
He said he could only walk with difficulty, but that some people "had it a lot worse".
"I can get about slowly [but] most people don't want me to run about too fast," he said.
"I can manage and will continue to manage as long as I possibly can."
Moore's daughter, Hannah, with whom he has lived for 12 years, said he was an early riser and his morning routine would start with letting the dogs out of the house before settling down to read the newspaper.
Later in the day Moore embarks on his regular 10 laps of the driveway and garden.
Tom Moore served in one of the battalions of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment that had been converted to operate on tanks as part of the Royal Armoured Corps. Photo / Supplied
Hannah Moore said her father was overwhelmed when he raised £1 million, but it just make him determined to walk more.
"He's a typical Yorkshireman," she said, "so he's very stoic, very controlled and takes everything in his stride.
"We always knew that he was this incredible gem of a man, but we never had any idea that his story would capture the hearts of the nation.
"We thought we could give people a little bit of happiness and we wanted to share a little bit about him, and it has just gone beyond even our wildest, wildest dreams."
By last weekend he had completed 50 laps and said he hoped to continue after reaching his goal, so grateful was he for the "super good nurses" who looked after him.
"Good luck to them," he said. "I hope that's why people have contributed to the National Health Service fund. They deserve so much more than we can possibly give them."
Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together told the BBC: "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."
The funds Moore raised will be spent on wellbeing packs for NHS staff and for kitting out rest and recuperation rooms.
It may also buy electronic devices so patients can keep in contact with loved ones and some of the money will go towards working with community groups to support patients once they are discharged from hospitals.
Asked for advice as to how the nation can get over the coronavirus crisis, Moore said it was important to always think that "tomorrow is a good day".
"Tomorrow you will maybe find everything will be much better than today, even if today was all right. That's the way I think I've always looked at it. Tomorrow will be a good day."
