Surrounded by family in his final hours, Captain Tom Moore passed away on Tuesday, 2 February. The 100-year-old who raised nearly £33 million for the NHS by walking laps of his garden, tested positive for COVID-19 last week and was admitted to Bedford Hospital on Sunday.
His family said that he hadn’t been vaccinated as he was taking medication for pneumonia.
Last year, the Army veteran had won the nation’s hearts by walking 100 laps of his garden with a walking aid in Bedfordshire’s Marston Moretaine village during the first lockdown, raising funds for NHS Charities Together.
The Queen had honoured him with knighthood in July 2020 in a special ceremony.
Leading tributes to Moore, the Queen recognised “the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world," BBC reported.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “Captain Sir Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word. In the dark 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 Telegraph quoted.
Calling him a “beacon of hope for the world”, Johnson added, “our thoughts are with his daughter Hannah and all his family.”
His daughters, Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira confirmed their father had passed away on Tuesday, saying that they “spent hours chatting to him, reminiscing about our childhood and our wonderful mother. We shared laughter and tears together.”
“We are so grateful that we were with him during the last hours of his life; Hannah, (grandchildren) Benjie and Georgia by his bedside and Lucy on FaceTime,” The Telegraph further quoted.
(With inputs from BBC and The Telegraph.)
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