There can be few more fitting honours awarded than the knighthood announced yesterday by Downing Street for the incredible NHS fundraising efforts of WWII veteran Captain Tom Moore.
The 100-year-old raised over £33 million for the NHS last month by walking laps of his garden
Initially determined to walk 100 laps of his garden in an effort to raise £1000 his efforts quickly caught the imagination of the whole country and by the time he had achieved his target in the days leading up to his birthday he had already raised over £12 million for NHS charities.
The award was recommended by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, although in recent weeks, the campaign “to knight Sir Tom” was featured by many national newspapers.
Mr Johnson described Sir Tom as a “true national treasure” and praised his “fantastic fundraising” which he said “provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus”.
He recommended Sir Tom be exceptionally honoured by the Queen, who has approved the honour, Number 10 said. An investiture ceremony will take place at a later date.
The knighthood comes just weeks after Captain Tom was made an honorary colonel to mark his centenary and his fundraising efforts.
Also joining in the congratulations was Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who said that Sir Tom had brought “inspiration to millions and helped all of us to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our NHS”.
He also released a charity single, You’ll Never Walk Alone, with singer Michael Ball, which reached number one in the charts, making him the oldest artist ever to have a UK number one single.
