Britain’s lockdown hero is finally being knighted, Downing Street confirmed last night.
Lockdown has produced its fair share of heroes, and none more so than Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old WWII veteran who’s raised almost £33,000,000 for the NHS by walking laps of his garden. He’s received a tribute on the Piccadilly Circus billboards, won a Pride of Britain award, been made an honorary colonel, and was also presented with a military flyover to wish him a happy 100th birthday… all in recognition of his incredible fundraising efforts. Now, following a special nomination from the prime minister, his efforts will also be honoured by the Queen.
Boris Johnson said: “Colonel Tom’s fantastic fundraising broke records, inspired the whole country and provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus. On behalf of everyone who has been moved by his incredible story, I want to say a huge thank you. He’s a true national treasure.”
Captain Tom initially set out to reach 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday, and the nation began rallying around the WWII veteran after his campaign made national news. Since then, what started out as now a rather modest-sounding £1,000 target absolutely blew up. His JustGiving page gathered huge traction day-after-day; quite literally breaking the internet.