99-Year-Old World War II Veteran who wanted to Raise £1,000 for Battle against COVID-19 has now Raised Over £18 Million

To inspire people to donate to the great cause, Tom Moore pledged to walk laps outside his garden in Bedfordshire. Tom will celebrate his 100th birthday on 30 April

Tom Moore set out to walk 100 laps around the 82-foot loop of his garden to raise at least £1,000 pounds or a little over $1,000 within a few days.

With the help of a walking frame with wheels, Moore began walking 82-foot laps, 10 laps per round, in hopes of completing 100 before he turned 100.

Instead, Moore’s fundraiser quickly exceeded £1 million within the first 24 hours. Now, a few days since Moore’s fundraiser project was first initiated, the veteran has raised over $18 million.

His original fundraising target was $1,250. His family said the fundraising site JustGiving had to stop the “Captain Tom Moore’s 100th Birthday Walk for the NHS” page from crashing, as more than 90,000 people tried to access it at one point. So far, more than 913,000 people have donated to Moore’s effort.

Capt. Tom has lived with his daughter’s family in England for 12 years since his wife died. His grandson, Benjie Ingram-Moore, shared with ABC News how much he values time with his grandfather and how Moore, who’s needed a walking aid since breaking a hip a year ago, couldn’t be slowed down.

“When you think of who it is all for — all those brave and super doctors and nurses we have got — I think they deserve every penny, and I hope we get some more for them too,” Moore said.

According to his daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, her father rose to the challenge and has been performing his 100-laps fundraiser by completing 10 laps every day around his garden.

His teenage grandson, Benji, set up a Twitter account to help promote Moore’s fundraising efforts online where it quickly gained traction. Moore’s Twitter account reached nearly 70,000 followers in a week.

“We set it up on April 8 [2020] and we’ve been explaining where the followers are and he’s been reading Twitter every day,” Ingram-Moore said.

Captain Tom Moore was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, on April 30, 1920. He trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the British army during World War II. Moore eventually rose to the rank of captain and served in posts overseas in India, Burma (now Myanmar), and Indonesia.

After leaving the army, Moore went into manufacturing and became the managing director of a concrete manufacturer. He has been living with his daughter, her husband, and their two kids since 2006 when his wife passed away.

But Ingram-Moore says that her father remains independent and likes to prepare his own meals despite their shared living arrangement.

The world can’t stop praising Capt. Tom.

Health Minister Matt Hancock began the government’s daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday by giving a special mention to Moore.

“I want to pay a special tribute today to Capt. Tom Moore,” Hancock said. “At the age of 99, he’s raised over £7 million so far for NHS charities by completing 100 laps of his garden. Capt. Tom, you’re an inspiration to us all, and we thank you.”

Thank you Captain Tom Moore
Here’s my appreciation artwork @captaintommoore #captaintommoore pic.twitter.com/YCjmoR3h84

— Claire Art Lady (@claireartlady) April 16, 2020