Tom Moore, the 100-year-old British national hero who raised millions of pounds for the National Health Service during the pandemic, was sent to his funeral on Saturday with his military honor.
Soldiers in Bedford, England, found the coffin of Mr. Moore carried and saluted a shotgun for the decorated World War II veteran, who became known and loved as ‘Captain Tom’. The ceremony was also marked by a Royal Air Force aircraft from World War II.
Mr. Moore became a national sensation last year when he took up his charity hiker and began doing rounds around his brick garden patio in Marston Moretaine, a town an hour north of London.
His daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, made her career known and helped turn it into an online fundraising campaign with the original goal of raising £ 1000 for the National Health Service, which reached the breaking point through the pandemic is.
Mr. Moore eventually made 100 rounds and raised £ 32.8 million, or $ 45 million, and skyrocketed to beloved celebrity status. He died in February after being treated for pneumonia and then tested positive for Covid-19.
“We were so close to each other as a family before this time, but we were pushed even closer together as the world was enchanted by your spirit of hope, positivity and resilience,” she said. Ingram-Moore said Saturday during a service limited to family. members but broadcast online. “They too have seen your faith in kindness and the fundamental goodness of the human spirit.”
Mr. Moore has become a star of international media with his provocative charm, mischievous smile and brave attire. He recorded a top title, ‘You’re Never Walk Alone’, with singer Michael Ball. And he draws the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, who during the pandemic made a rare appearance to knight him at Windsor Castle.
When he died, tributes poured in from pop stars and everyday citizens.
Mr. In an interview with The New York Times in May, Moore said he sees fundraising as a way to support health workers, just as he remembered the country supporting him and his fellow soldiers during the war.
“Back then, the people my age, we fought on the front line and the general public stood behind us,” he said. ‘In this case, the doctors and nurses and all the medical people are the front line. It’s my generation to back it up, just as we were backed up. ”
The BBC has written a book in the last few months of his life that contains the directions for his funeral. In a section issued by the family, Mr. Moore requested that the song include the song “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. It has.
“I always did things my way,” he wrote, “and especially like the rule of having too little regret to mention.”