Captain Sir Tom Moore was knighted by the Queen on Friday afternoon at the Windsor Castle. The ceremony was conducted at the quadrangle at the Castle, which was attended by Capt. Sir Moore's family - his daughter Hannah Ingram, son-in-law Colin Ingram, grandson Benji and granddaughter Georgia.
Captain Sir Tom was honoured knighthood under exceptional circumstances, outside of the usual timescale for knighthood and at a time when royal investitures have generally been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who is Capt Sir Tom Moore?
Capt. Sir Tom was born on April 30, 1920, in Keighley, West Yorkshire. He served in the army after completing civil engineering apprenticeship and was also in the eighth battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (8 DWR). In 1940, Sir Captain Tom rose to the rank of captain and received a promotion to 9 DWR in India.
Why was he knighted?
The Queen knights Sir Tom pic.twitter.com/K85fKvx5pU
— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) July 17, 2020
Captain Sir Tom rose to fame after his fundraising efforts grabbed nationwide attention. The 100-year-old man encouraged people to make donations to NHS charities during the lockdown, which ended up attracting £32.7 million in donations.
It all started in April, when he started walking in laps to encourage people to raise funds for NHS charities. Initially, he'd hoped to raise £1,000 before he turned 100, but he turned into an overnight sensation as millions of pounds kept pouring in from people across the country. By April 30, the total fundraising had surpassed £30 million.
Sir Captain Tom's fundraising efforts were applauded by one and all. On his birthday, he received a birthday card from the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, the Queen's representative in the county, and even PM Boris Johnson wished the veteran in a special video message.
"You've created a channel to enable millions to say a heartfelt thank you to the remarkable men and women in our NHS who are doing the most astounding job," the prime minister had said.
