Veteran receives 135,000 birthday cards after raising millions for healthcare workers
Captain Tom Moore is not only a household name, but a living legend after he raised £29 million for the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
Ahead of the Second World War veteran's 100th birthday on Thursday, Captain Moore has received 135,000 birthday cards from members of the public.
Moore's fundraiser went viral as he completed 100 laps of his garden in the run up to his big birthday. He received a message of thanks from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and a shoutout from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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Moore originally aimed to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together, the collection of charities supporting staff and volunteers caring for COVID-19 patients, but ended up raising nearly £30 million.
Captain Moore has received so many cards, they filled the assembly hall of a local school, Bedford School, where his 16-year-old grandson Benjie attends.
Benjie asked his school for help after hearing the post office was inundated with cards in honour of his grandfather's centenary.
"The volume of cards that have been sent to granddad is just astonishing," Benjie told Sky News. "So many of the cards are truly heartfelt with thousands from young children who have taken the time to use their artistic talent and write a personal message."
"It means a lot to granddad as well as us as a family. We are hugely proud of how the nation has taken granddad to its heart. Words can't express how much I idolise him," Benjie added.
According to a tweet posted by Bedford School, it took 1,750 hours to assemble the cards and 150 volunteers.
Inside the cards, people sent in a whopping £60,000 along with their birthday cards, which will be added to the NHS fundraiser.
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160,000 cards are expected to arrive in time for Captain Moore's big day on April 30.
Happy 100th birthday, Captain Tom Moore!
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
