Britain's record fund-raiser Captain Tom Moore has died, family says
- by Leland Aguilar
- in Entertaiment
- — Feb 3, 2021
Howard Quayle said Sir Tom was 'a beacon of light in the darkest of days, a true hero and inspiration in Britain, the Isle of Man and beyond'.
Captain Sir Tom Moore has died at the age of 100.
Captain Tom with birthday cakes as he celebrated his 100th birthday.
'We spent hours chatting to him, reminiscing about our childhood and our wonderful mother.
He'd been in hospital since Sunday with pnuemonia and had also tested positive for Covid-19.
Moore rose to prominence past year amid the global coronavirus pandemic, thanks to his efforts helping to raise £1,000 for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his backyard.
"When our country and our world was struggling you gave us hope, put a smile on our faces and made us believe that tomorrow would be a good day".
"The a year ago of our father's life was nothing short of remarkable", they said. Our thoughts are with his daughter Hannah and all his family. "He was rejuvenated and experienced things he'd only ever dreamed of", they added.
'Whilst he'd been in so many hearts for just a short time, he was an incredible father and grandfather, and he will stay alive in our hearts forever'. Sending love and condolences to family'.
He had initially set out to raise £1,000 in gratitude for the treatment he had received for skin cancer and a broken hip, but ended up attracting donations from 1.5 million supporters.
Captain Tom's initiative, which started in April ahead of his 100th birthday, quickly went viral, resulting in some £33 million (about $40 million) of donations pouring in from both the United Kingdom and overseas.
In acknowledgement of his efforts, he was knighted by the Queen during a unique open-air ceremony at Windsor Castle in summer 2020.
Today his family confirmed Sir Tom had died, aged 100.
His record-breaking fundraising went towards charity organisation NHS Charities Together, which said the money has helped patients, their families and carers during their most isolated and stressful moments throughout the pandemic.
It was announced earlier this week Capt Sir Tom had contracted the virus after battling pneumonia.
Mr Johnson said on 1 February that he spoke to Captain Tom's family after it was revealed he had been admitted to hospital and called him "an inspiration to everybody in this country during this pandemic".