100-year-old British War Veteran To Receive Knighthood For Raising $40M To Fight Coronavirus

Captain Tom Moore, a British war veteran who turned 100 last month, will be knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic by raising nearly $40 million (£32 million).

In April, Moore, who moves with the assistance of a walker, walked 100 laps around his garden to raise money for the National Health Service, the U.K.’s public health system that is currently fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently recovered from COVID-19, said in a statement that Moore gave his country “a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus.”

“On behalf of everyone who has been moved by his incredible story, I want to say a huge thank you. He's a true national treasure,” Johnson said. He also said that Moore broke fundraising records by inspiring the country.

In 2018, Moore received treatment for skin cancer on his head and for a broken hip. He was inspired to support the NHS by running 100 laps around his garden before his 100th birthday to raise funds.

By the end of his charity run, Moore had raised the equivalent of nearly $40 million, which he said he raised “for the sake of the nurses and the NHS we have because they are doing such a magnificent job” in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Moore’s fundraiser crashed the website JustGiving which hosted it. Moore had more than 900,000 donors with JustGiving itself donating more than $100,000.

He was honored on his centennial birthday with a flypast from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a citation from the Ministry of Defense, a promotion to lieutenant colonel, and a letter from the queen.

Hundreds of thousands of people sent him birthday cards on his 100th birthday for his charity work. The Royal Mail called him a “fundraising hero” and even gave him a special mailbox.

Tom Moore was born in Yorkshire, England in 1920. He completed an apprenticeship in civil engineering before joining the British army at the start of the Second World War. He served in India and Myanmar.

He later became an instructor for a technical school and spent his later years with his daughter in Bedforeshire.