At 100, Captain Tom Moore honored at funeral
In this Friday, July 17, 2020 file photo, Captain Sir Thomas Moore poses for the media after receiving his knighthood from Britain's Queen Elizabeth, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. Tom Moore, the 100-year-old World War II veteran who captivated the British public in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic with his fundraising efforts, has been admitted to a hospital with COVID-19, his daughter said Sunday Jan. 31, 2021.[Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP]
Church bells rang out and a World War II-era plane flew over the funeral service of Captain Tom Moore, in honor of the veteran who raised millions for Britain’s health workers by walking laps in his backyard.
Captain Tom, as he became known, died Feb. 2 at age 100 after testing positive for COVID-19. Just eight members of the veteran’s immediate family attended Saturday’s private funeral service, but soldiers carried his coffin and formed a ceremonial guard.
“Daddy, you always told us ‘Best foot forward’ and true to your word, that’s what you did last year,” Moore’s daughter Lucy Teixeira said at the service.
Moore, who served in India, Burma and Sumatra during World War II, set out to raise a modest 1,000 pounds for Britain’s NHS by walking 100 laps of his backyard by his 100th birthday last year. But donations poured in from across Britain and beyond as his quest went viral.
His trademark phrase, “Please remember, tomorrow will be a good day," inspired the nation at a time of crisis. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July at Windsor Castle.
A version of the song “Smile” by singer Michael Bublé recorded for the funeral was played. So was “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, as Moore requested.