A Petition Has Started To Knight Captain Tom Moore After Raising Millions For NHS
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A petition has been set up to have Captain Tom Moore knighted.
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The World War Two hero hit the headlines this week when he set out on raising £1,000 ($1,250) for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday on 30 April. He began his walks on Monday 6 April and completed his final lap today (16 April).
He has well and truly smashed his target, with people from far and wide digging deep to help the veteran raise more than £12.8 million ($15.9m) at the time of writing.
To mark both his charity work and his military record, a petition has been set up to see Captain Tom awarded the prestigious title of knight.
The Change.org petition has already received more than 1,000 signatures from people calling for the 99-year-old to be recognised for his bravery and kindness.
Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has also backed the idea.
He said: "It suddenly came to me - would it be nice to see Captain Tom Moore, who served his country in World War II, and has now raised over £4million for the NHS in a week, wouldn't it be great to see him knighted for his services to the country?
"Wouldn't it be great if we didn't feel temptation to give it to business people who pay money for the honour, we didn't give it to celebrities for singing nice songs, but we give it to someone like him? That we make him Sir Tom?
"I think that would be great. Let's give him something back."
These thoughts have since been echoed by people online who have been touched by Captain Tom's story.
One person wrote: "Tom Moore - Yorkshire grit. Make that man a knight before he is 100."
A second demanded: "Captain Tom Moore. A nations hero. Knight this man."
While another added: "Captain Tom Moore I salute you. Knight him now."
Speaking about his efforts, Captain Tom told BBC Breakfast after completing his challenge: "It's a lovely morning and I feel fine. I've been in the army, we're used to getting up early!
"It started off as a family joke, but I've been treated so well by the NHS - the service I've had has been absolutely marvellous. They've been kind, attentive... All the nurses and the doctors - and the backup people - they've done so well for me and for everyone at the moment.
"It's a fantastic sum of money. I would never have imagined that sum of money. It's unbelievable that people have been so kind. Maybe I was responsible for starting it, but not deliberately. It was purely out of gratitude for what they've done for me."
If you want to donate to Captain Tom's efforts, visit his JustGiving page.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: UK News, Inspirational, Interesting
