Centenarian Captain Tom Moore, who captivated the British public in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic with his fundraising efforts, died on Tuesday. His death was announced on his Twitter account.
Moore struck a chord with locked-down Britain by walking around his garden with the help of a frame to raise 38.9 million pounds ($53 million) for the National Health Service. His endeavour and wit spread joy amid the grim news of the coronavirus outbreak:
Moore’s message to the world was that the sun would shine again and that the clouds would clear. “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore,” his daughters said in a statement following his death on Tuesday morning at Bedford Hospital in central England.
The Royal Family tweeted: “Her Majesty very much enjoyed meeting Captain Sir Tom and his family at Windsor last year. Her thoughts and those of the Royal Family are with them.” He was admitted to the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, said on Twitter on January 31.
According to AI Jazeera, the British World War II veteran caught the public’s eye when he was filmed doing laps with the help of a walking frame around his garden in the village of Marston Moretaine, north London just before his 100th birthday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth led the tributes to Moore, whose exploits won global admiration. “Captain Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word,” said Johnson, who spoke to Moore’s daughter Hannah to pass on his condolences. “He became not just a national inspiration but a beacon of hope for the world.”
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