Walk on Captain Tom!
Posted By: Claire Wednesday 3rd February 2021
LaneSystems would like to take a moment to pay tribute to Captain Sir Thomas Moore who sadly passed away yesterday after testing positive for Coronavirus at 100 years old.
Captain Tom achieved a great deal over his 100 years, he’s a veteran of the 2nd World War being an officer of the British Army, he became Managing Director of a concrete company, but most famously are Captain Tom’s efforts raising £32.79 million for the NHSto be put towards more support during the coronavirus pandemic.
On the 6th of April 2020, Captain Tom set out to walk 100 lengths of his garden before his 100th birthday, to raise money for the NHS. His goal was to raise £1,000. Word of his goal got around and became widely publicised drawing the attention people worldwide.
On the morning of his 100th birthday, Captain Sir Thomas Moore had wholly surpassed his goal and had raised a whopping £30m for the charity, with a further £2.79m coming in before the closure of the campaign at the end of that same day! In thanks to Captain Tom, his birthday was then celebrated in many ways from receiving a flypast from the Royal Air Force and British Army, a dedicated stamp used by the Royal Mail marking his birthday. Captain Tom received over 150,000 birthday cards from well-wishers the world over, one of which being a personalised card from The Queen as opposed to the standard 100th birthday message.
Captain Tom was also appointed honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College and then to top it off, on 17th July 2020, Captain Sir Thomas Moore was given the Knight Bachelor by the Queen at Windsor Castle.
Throughout the pandemic, over £116m has been raised for the NHS including the money raised by Captain Tom. Funds raised are already being put to amazing use; in County Durham, well-being packs were delivered to NHS staff including food hampers, skin care items to combat the effects of constant handwashing and wearing masks for more prolonged periods of time than usual.
In London, pop-up shops were introduced in hospitals for staff to stop and get a free drink, snack or microwaveable meal to keep them going throughout their 14hour shifts.
Hospitals in Scotland introduced spaces in which staff could relax. These became important to the staff to use as a means to allow themselves to have a moment pause and wind down during breaks or after their long shifts. An old library has also been renovated using the donations with comfortable chairs and quite rooms.
In Wales, where staff used to have to bring their own tea and coffee supplies in, tea rooms were introduced with money donated being used to provide the supplies to staff members as well as new fridges stocked with water bottles.
As you can see, Captain Tom’s fundraising has helped the NHS greatly, his efforts in raising money and bringing the world together at such a tough time are truly inspiring.
Our deepest condolences go out to his family during this sad time and to Captain Sir Thomas Moore; Your selfless actions live on in our hearts and thoughts!
