Britain’s NHS Hero Tom Moore Receives 100,000 Birthday Cards and 1,000 Presents

The army veteran who rose to notoriety having raised nearly £29million for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden, has received some 100,000 cards and 1,000 presents ahead of his birthday this week. 

Captain Tom Moore, who lives in Bedfordshire, said he was ‘blown away’ by the outpouring of kindness from the public in anticipation of his 100th birthday on Thursday.

His eldest daughter Lucy Teixeira said: ‘At last count my dad has had around 100,000 cards and a thousand gifts of everything from chocolate and flowers.’

Bedford School, attended by Captain Moore’s grandson, Benjie, accepted the delivery from a Northampton sorting office, providing their Great Hall for socially-distancing staff to open each card.

Captain Moore, 99, became a household name after crowdfunding almost £29million for the NHS Charities Together fund by walking lengths of his garden in Marston Moretaine, in Bedfordshire.

He initially intended to raise just £1,000 by completing 100 laps before turning 100 on April 30.

The Second World War veteran also recorded a version of You’ll Never Walk Alone with singer Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir, which saw even more money raised for charity.

Speaking to the Sunday People, daughter Lucy said: ‘He is absolutely blown away and humbled by the support.’

She added she will be singing Happy Birthday to her father on BBC Breakfast on Thursday, saying: ‘And he will have cake – he loves cake.’

Captain Moore has been widely honoured by the public, celebrities and politicians alike for his military service to Britain and for his incredible charity work.

Such personalities include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, ­actors Michael Sheen and Dame Julie Walters, and boxer Anthony Joshua.

Captain Moore was also presented with a Pride of Britain award by Carol Vorderman via video link on Good Morning Britain, this week.

Captain Moore, 99, who was born and raised in Keighley, West Yorkshire, started life as a civil ­engineer, before joining the British Army aged 20 as the Second World War broke out.

He served in India and fought in battles against invading Japanese in Burma.

At 50, Captain Moore married wife Pamela and raised two daughters, Lucy and Hannah, while working as a salesman.

A documentary in which Captain Moore retells his experiences in the Burma campaign, known as the Forgotten War, will air on ITV, in May.

Eldest daughter Lucy opened her ­family photo album to the Sunday People to talk about her ‘inspiring’ father.

‘My ­father has been inspiring all his life. I’ve watched him be determined, I’ve watched him carry things out. His Yorkshire grit and British determination is stamped through him, as many people now see.’

She said her father believes ‘a Yorkshireman’s word is his bond’, adding: ‘If he says he is going to do something, then he is going to do it. I would say that is his motto.’

Captain Moore was inspired to raise money for the NHS Charities Together fund after he fell and broke his hip two years ago. ‘The help he got from the NHS at the time was his driving force behind him wanting to give back,’ she said.

Adding: ‘Visiting him in ­hospital, I really thought it was his last day on this planet. That was so hard.

‘And look what he has done. Through grit and ­determination, he has slowly got himself into a position where he can walk.’

She said her father has been on an ‘incredible’ journey, adding: ‘To watch it all unfold has been thrilling. We are incredibly proud.’