99-year-old veteran raises £18 million for healthcare workers by walking around his garden
UPDATE: April 17, 2020, 9:52 a.m. BST As of Friday morning, Captain Tom Moore has raised a whopping £18 million.
Here's a story that'll warm your heart in these strange times.
Captain Tom Moore, a 99-year-old veteran, has raised £18 million ($22.4 million) for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) by completing 100 laps around his back garden.
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Ahead of his 100th birthday, the World War Two veteran decided he'd mark that rather significant milestone with a fundraiser for healthcare workers facing the coronavirus pandemic.
Moore originally aimed to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together, the collection of charities supporting staff and volunteers caring for COVID-19 patients, by walking around his garden. Now, he's not only completed his 100th lap before his birthday, he also raised an incredible £18 million.
Moore completed 10 laps per day of his garden in Bedfordshire, UK, so he could achieve his target of 100. His back garden is 25 metres in length. His 100th birthday falls at the end of April. On Thursday morning, ahead of schedule, Moore completed the final 25 lengths of his garden with a guard of honour from the 1st Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment by his side.
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According to the JustGiving fundraising page, Moore is from Keighley in Yorkshire, UK. He served in the eighth battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (DWR) at the beginning of the Second World War, and in 1940 he was selected for officer training.
"He was later posted to 9DWR in India, and served and fought on the Arakan, went to Regiment to Sumatra after the Japanese surrender and returned to be Instructor at Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington," reads Moore's bio on JustGiving. He now lives in Bedfordshire with his daughter and two grandchildren.
Upon completing his 100th lap, Captain Tom told BBC News he was feeling fine. "I'm surrounded by the right sort of people so yes, I feel fine, hope you're all feeling fine too," he said.
Videos of Moore's walks were posted on YouTube throughout his fundraising effort.
The money will go to NHS Charities Together, a charity which is currently supporting frontline NHS staff and volunteers caring for COVID-19 patients.
To donate to the fundraiser, visit Moore's JustGiving page.
Wishing the Captain the happiest 100th birthday!
UPDATE: April 17, 2020, 9:53 a.m. BST On Friday morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sent Tom a message of thanks.
Prince William called Tom a "one man fundraising machine." Tom appeared to be blown away by the message and, in turn, called the Duke of Cambridge "my super prince."
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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.
