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Boris Johnson. (Justin Tallis / TT NYHETSBYRÅN)

Johnson: Han var en hjälte i ordets rätta bemärkelse

Den nu avlidne militärveteranen Tom Moore var en ”hjälte i ordets rätta bemärkelse”. Det menar den brittiske premiärminister Boris Johnson – en av många som nu hyllar Moore.

I ett inlägg på Twitter lyfter han fram ”Captain Toms” insamling under våren där hundratals miljoner samlades in till den brittiska sjukvården, och skriver att han inspirerat britterna och skapat hopp i hela världen.

”Våra tankar går till hans dotter Hannah och hela hans familj.”

bakgrund
 
Captain Tom
Wikipedia (en)
Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), popularly known as "Captain Tom", was a former British Army officer and centenarian, known for his achievements raising money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moore served in India, the Burma campaign during the Second World War, and later became an instructor in armoured warfare. After the war, he worked as managing director of a concrete company and was an avid motorcycle racer. On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99, he began to walk round his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his hundredth birthday. In the 24-day course of his fundraising he made many media appearances and became a popular household name in the United Kingdom, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations. In recognition of his efforts, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award at the 2020 ceremony. He performed in a cover version of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Michael Ball, with proceeds going to the same charity. The single topped the UK music charts, making him the oldest person to achieve a UK number one. On the morning of his hundredth birthday the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day had increased to over £32.79 million (worth almost £39 million with expected tax rebates). His birthday was marked in a number of ways, including flypasts by the Royal Air Force and the British Army. He received over 150,000 cards, and was appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. On 17 July 2020, he was invested as a Knight Bachelor at Windsor Castle. In January 2021 Moore was hospitalised after testing positive with COVID-19. He died in February at the age of 100.
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