Happy Century, Tom Moore.
As far as centurions go, this is a pretty special one. Captain Tom Moore, who was just promoted to a colonel for his 100th birthday, has hit a whopping £30 million for his NHS fundraiser. (Featured image: @DefenceHQ, Twitter)
Colonel Tom Moore has been a beacon for the nation in this uncertain period. His extraordinary fundraiser for the NHS, in which he set out to complete 100 laps of his garden before his birthday, has grabbed Britain’s attention. And it really hasn’t let up since! He even received a huge 135,000 birthday cards for his special day.
The amazing moment a Spitfire and Hurricane flew over @captaintommoore's house to mark his 100th birthday on #BBCBreakfast.#CaptainTom100
More here: https://t.co/1BAoxJgEVN pic.twitter.com/auFO4hbGbC— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) April 30, 2020
To mark the special occasion, a military flyover was arranged to perform three loops over his home in Bedfordshire. They made a 68-mile journey to him this morning. The Ministry Of Defence said this would “celebrate Captain Tom’s birthday and mark his amazing fundraising achievement”.
Tom Moore originally set out to walk 100 laps and raise £1000 for the NHS. After he reached his lap target, he had already raised over £12 million. As of this morning (April 30), the fundraiser sits at a very healthy £30,317,661.
This morning, @RAFBBMF will perform a spectacular flypast over @captaintommoore's house with a Spitfire and a Hurricane from @RAFConingsby. The public are reminded to #StayHomeSaveLives.
On behalf of everyone in Defence, happy 100th birthday Colonel Tom!#ColonelTomMoore pic.twitter.com/K5bGfNbQZc
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 30, 2020
The WWII veteran and grandad-of-four was made an honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate this morning. This was approved by the Queen of England.
Tom was deployed to India during WWII and fought in Burma. A documentary on his life will air next Friday (May 8) on ITV. Tom’s rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” also spent a week on top of the UK charts.
🎉@captaintommoore has been appointed as the first Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College Harrogate. Happy birthday Colonel Tom!
"His mature wisdom, no-nonsense attitude and humour in adversity make him an inspirational role model to generations young and old" @ArmyCGS pic.twitter.com/xC6sRICfHB
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 30, 2020
Colonel Tom Moore has provided some much-needed hope and strength to Britain. A very happy birthday to you, Colonel Tom!