100-year-old veteran gets knighthood after raising £32 million for healthcare workers
Captain Tom Moore is a household name in the UK after he raised more than £32 million for NHS workers by walking laps of his garden.
For his fundraising efforts, the World War II veteran has already received the honorary title of colonel, with personal thank you messages from the prime minister, the Queen, and other members of the royal family.
But it hasn't stopped there. The centenarian has just had another prefix added to his name — he's getting a knighthood. Arise, Captain Sir Thomas Moore!
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UK PM Boris Johnson specially nominated Moore for the honour, which was then approved by the Queen.
Due to Ministry of Defence protocol, Moore's title will officially be Captain Sir Thomas Moore because his colonel title is an honorary one.
When Moore first embarked on his fundraising mission, he only set out to raise £1,000 by walking 100 laps of his 25-metre garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
By the time his big birthday arrived, Moore had raised tens of millions for NHS charities. At the time of publishing the fundraising figure stood at £32,794,701.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Moore's effort has become a symbol of hope in the UK. On his 100th birthday, he received more than 140,000 cards wishing him well.
Moore is said to be "delighted and overawed" by the news of his knighthood.
"I thought this can't be true — I've always said this won't happen and it appears it actually has," he said.
Richly deserved!
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.
