Sir Captain Tom Moore died in hospital after getting coronavirus and his closing words were “you can do and be anything you want to be”.
The Queen led tributes to him, highlighting “the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world”.
The army veteran had walked 100 laps of his garden during the first lockdown to raise money for NHS Charities Together.
Sir Captain Tom Moore was knighted by the Queen at a ceremony at Windsor Castle, and a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said that Her Majesty very much enjoyed meeting Captain Sir Tom Moore and his family at Windsor Castle last year and that her thoughts, and those of the royal family, are with them, recognising the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world.
In his closing message on Instagram to the world last month, Sir Tom Moore posted an image which read: “You can do and be anything you want to be”.
Alongside the post on social media, Sir Captain Tom’s account read: “Be positive and believe in yourself”.
Prime Minister Boris Jonson also made a statement following Captain Tom’s death. He said: “Captain Sir Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word”. And he continued that in the darkest days of the Second World War he fought for freedom and in the face of this country’s deepest post-war crisis he united us all, he cheered us all up, and he embodied the triumph of the human spirit.
The Prime Minister said he became not just a national inspiration but a beacon of hope for the world, and that their thoughts were with his daughter Hannah and all his family.
The flag at 10 Downing Street was lowered at half-mast in tribute to Sir Captain Tom Moore, and Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted that this was incredibly sad news.
Sir Captain Tom Moore put others first at a time of national crisis and was a beacon of hope for millions and Britain has lost a hero.
At the beginning of his plan to raise money, Captain Sir Tom Moore only imagined he would raise £1,000, but he ultimately raised £32,794,701 for the NHS.
The veteran joined the Army at the beginning of World War Two, where he served in India and Myanmar.
This man was a real gentleman and he was one of the golden generations that we won’t see again, and a country full of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s would be a wonderful place, and may he rest in peace.
A statue in Trafalgar Square would be a fitting eulogy to a positively inspirational symbol of British resilience, and he represented everything that was good about Britain.
Perhaps we could even have a new hospital named after him because whether he died COVID related or not, he lived life more than we ever could, and the great work he did in his life is extremely important and should always be remembered.
