WWII Vet Captain Tom Moore, 99, Raises Almost $34 Million for U.K. Health Charity

Written by Brittany Raymer | Need a good news story? A World War II veteran in the United Kingdom has raised more than £27.2 million or almost $34 million dollars by doing something rather simple, walking around his garden with his walker.

It all started when Captain Thomas Moore, 99, broke his hip. As part of his rehabilitation process, he decided on April 6 to make 100 laps around his garden, which is about 25 meters (82 feet), by his 100th birthday on April 30. He thought that by doing this he could raise about £1,000 for the National Health Service (NHS) Charities Together in order to help support the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in honor of the nurses that helped him recover. This charity, in particular, focuses on the staff and volunteers that are caring for COVID-19 patients.

“After I broke my hip, I had some marvelous service from all the staff,” Capt. Moore said to BBC Breakfast. “The patience and the kindness that I got from all of them, top to bottom was absolutely amazing. So, anybody who is helping with me and the National Health Service, I’d be very pleased because they’ve done so well for me and they’re doing so well for everybody else at the moment that I think we must say ‘well done National Health Service.’”

Born in 1920, the WWII vet (who now has his own Wikipedia page) trained as an engineer before he enlisted in the Army, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. He served in the India and Burma (Myanmar) campaigns, which was a complex operation requiring soldiers to fight in difficult terrain in an unforgiving jungle landscape.

He has now traded the jungles of Asia for the quiet of the English countryside. From royalty to schoolchildren, encouraged and invigorated by Capt. Moore’s daily walks during this time of crisis.