Captain Tom Moore
Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser. He made international headlines in April 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. He served in India and the Burma campaign during the Second World War, and later became an instructor in armoured warfare. After the war, he worked as managing director of a concrete company and was an avid motorcycle racer.
"Captain Tom" redirects here. For "Captain Tom" Mathis, see Thomas A. Mathis.
Sir Tom Moore
Thomas Moore
30 April 1920
Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
2 February 2021 (aged 100)
Bedford, England
2
United Kingdom
1940–1946
- Captain
- Honorary Colonel, Army Foundation College (from 2020)
- Second World War
On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99 during the first COVID-19 national lockdown, Moore began to walk 100 lengths of his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his 100th birthday on 30 April. In the 24-day course of his fundraising, he made many media appearances and became a household name in the UK, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations.
In recognition of his efforts, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award at the 2020 ceremony. He performed in a cover version of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Michael Ball, with proceeds going to the same charity. The single topped the UK Singles Chart, making him the oldest person to achieve a UK number one.
On the morning of Moore's 100th birthday, the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day had increased to over £32.79 million (worth almost £39 million with expected tax rebates). His birthday was marked in a number of ways, including flypasts by the Royal Air Force and the British Army. He received over 150,000 cards, and was appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. On 17 July 2020, he was personally knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. He died in 2021 aged 100, at Bedford Hospital, where he was taken after being treated for pneumonia and then testing positive for COVID-19.
Early life and education[edit]
Moore was born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on 30 April 1920, and grew up in the town.[1] He was the son of Isabella (née Hird) and Wilson "Wilfred" Moore.[2] His father was from a family of builders,[3][4] and his mother was a head teacher.[5] Moore was educated at Keighley Grammar School and started an apprenticeship in civil engineering.[6]
Hobbies[edit]
Moore raced motorcycles competitively – he purchased his first when he was 12 and wore the number 23.[22] He rode a Scott motorcycle, winning several trophies.[23] Moore was a member of the Keighley and District Photographic Association between 1934 and 1936, as his father had also been.[24]
He was a contestant in the Christmas Day 1983 edition of the BBC Television game show Blankety Blank.[25]
Personal life[edit]
Moore first married in 1949 a woman who was known as "Billie".[115][2] The marriage was never consummated and was subsequently annulled.[116][117] In January 1968, he married Pamela, fifteen years his junior.[118] They had two daughters: Hannah and Lucy.[119][118] When Moore was working at Cawoods and then March Concrete, the family lived in Welney in Norfolk.[21] The couple retired to the Costa del Sol, Spain, but returned when Pamela developed a form of dementia. She spent her last years in a nursing home, where Moore would visit her every day.[85] She died in 2006.[26] Moore lived with his younger daughter, her husband, and two grandchildren Ben and Georgia, in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, from 2008 until his death.[14] He also had two other grandchildren.[119]
In 2018, he received treatment from the NHS, for a broken hip, broken rib, punctured lung and other serious injuries, following a fall.[86][26][27][94][120][121] He was still recovering from these injuries when he started his fund-raising walk.[86] The same year, he was also treated for melanoma of the head. In addition, Moore had a hip replacement and a double knee replacement.[122] His great-nephew is a paediatric junior doctor at East Surrey Hospital.[122]
In December 2020, Moore and his family took a holiday to Barbados after British Airways paid for his flight.[123][124]
Captain Tom Foundation[edit]
The Captain Tom Foundation was established in June 2020,[156] its declared aim being to recognise and raise money for organisations supporting the elderly in the UK.[157] Moore's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband, Colin, became trustees of the charity in February 2021.[156]
The British media reported in June 2022 that the Charity Commission would investigate the foundation after questions arose regarding its financial relationship to members of the Ingram-Moore family.[156] As of July 2023, the investigation was still in progress.[158][159]
The Foundation stopped accepting donations in July 2023, following controversy arising from the construction of a building in the grounds of the Ingram-Moore family house in Marston Moretaine.[158] Planning permission had been granted to the foundation for a structure which was intended to be used partly in connection with its charitable objectives.[158] However, the structure constructed was actually a pool house which was larger than specified in the planning application.[159] Central Bedfordshire Council ordered the building to be demolished.[158][159] In November 2023 the family appealed against the demolition order but this was rejected. The Planning Inspectorate judged the building harmful to the Grade II-listed family home and the building was required to be demolished within three months.[160] Demolition commenced in January 2024 and must be completed by 7 February.[161]
