World War II veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised millions of dollars for Britains National Health Service at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, has tragically died after contracting the virus at age 100.
Moore made headlines in 2020 when he raised $57 million by walking 100 laps of his garden in the lead up to his 100th birthday, raising much-needed funds for the NHS in the early days of the pandemic.
Captain Sir Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word. His legacy will long live after him. pic.twitter.com/0Zn56gThCC
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 2, 2021
His daughters announced the tragic news in a statement on Wednesday morning.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore,” it read.
They confirmed that his final hours were spent surrounded by family, both in-person and virtually.
“We are so grateful that we were with him during the last hours of his life; Hannah, Benjie and Georgia by his bedside and Lucy on FaceTime,” the statement read.
“We spent hours chatting to him, reminiscing about our childhood and our wonderful mother. We shared laughter and tears together.”
“Whilst he’d been in so many hearts for just a short time, he was an incredible father and grandfather, and he will stay alive in our hearts forever.”
Moore was hospitalised for pneumonia on January 31, but also battled skin and prostate cancer, as well as COVID in the final years of his life.
The Queen has sent her condolences to the family privately after knighting him in May of 2020.
