Tom Moore: Military Guard Of Honour As Army Veteran Completes 100-Lap Challenge

Army veteran Captain Tom Moore has completed 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire, having raised more than £13 million for NHS workers.

After finishing a century of laps, completed with a guard of honour from the 1st Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, the 99-year-old said he felt "fine" and that he was glad to be “surrounded by the right sort of people".

Mr Moore has told Forces News he will continue walking for as long as people continue donating.

Tom Moore, a former Army captain who served in India and Burma during the Second World War, captured the nation's attention in his quest to complete 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden in time for his 100th birthday this month, walking with the aid of a frame.

He is raising money for NHS Charities Together, to thank the "magnificent" staff who recently treated him for a broken hip and cancer. 

For his efforts, the veteran has received multiple messages of thanks from NHS workers, sports personalities and politicians.

Upon reaching the £10 million mark earlier this week, he took to social media to thank those donating.

He wrote: "Virtutis Fortuna Comes," the motto of the Army's Duke of Wellington's Regiment, which Mr Moore joined 80 years ago.

Posting on Twitter this morning, Mr Moore said: "The JustGiving page has crashed with all your amazing efforts.

"I salute you all.

"Incredible and now words fail me."

Maj Ian Atkins, officer commanding the troops in the Guard of Honour, said: "We are honoured to stand here today and provide this Guard of Honour for Captain Tom Moore, who at two weeks shy of his 100th birthday has completed 100 laps of his garden.

"The soldiers, standing apart and yet together in support of Captain Tom, couldn’t be prouder to count him as one of their own, and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his service to the country, and now his achievements in the name of the NHS.

"The British Army, the NHS and the whole nation has been behind him every step of the way."

WO1 Jamie Pearson, Regimental Sergeant Major of 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, congratulated Tom as he watched him cross the finish line.

"We class Captain Tom as one of our own, so it’s a fantastic honour to be here today to witness such an inspirational act from a phenomenal individual. Thank you Tom," he said.

After completing an apprenticeship as a Civil Engineer, the Yorkshire-born veteran was enlisted in 8th Duke of Wellington's Regiment (145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps)at the beginning of the Second World War and was selected for officer training in 1940.

He was later posted to 9th Duke of Wellington's Regiment in India, and fought on the Arakan, Burma.