Queen Elizabeth knights 100-year-old WWii veteran for “Captain Tom” for raising 33 million pounds for National Health Service

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Queen Elizabeth knighted Captain Tom Moore on Friday, recognizing the 100-year-old for lifting the spirits of Britain during the gloom of the novel coronavirus outbreak by raising millions of pounds for health workers.

The Second World War veteran raised a record sum of 33 million pounds ($56.2 million Cdn) by walking 100 laps of his garden with the aid of a walking frame in April in the run-up to his birthday.

The palace said the Queen would use a sword that belonged to her father, George VI, for the ceremony.

LONDON — The 100-year-old veteran affectionately known as “Captain Tom” will receive a knighthood after raising tens of millions of dollars for Britain’s National Health Service.
Tom Moore — who was recently given an honorary promotion to the rank of “Colonel” on his 100th birthday — originally set out to raise just over $1,000 for frontline health workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic after he was treated for cancer. But his fundraising efforts, carried out by lapping his garden 100 times, captured the hearts of the nation, and he has since raised over $40 million.

“I’m still Tom Moore,” the veteran said in reacting to the news. “I mean, it’s nice. It’s nice, I think Sir Thomas sounds very nice, but inside I haven’t changed. Nothing’s changed inside.”

“I could never have imagined this would happen to me,” Sir Tom said about Friday’s ceremony at Windsor Castle.

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Photo courtesy Getty Images and Peter Cziborra/Reuters