The coffin of Captain Sir Tom Moore is carried by members of the Armed Forces during his funeral, at Bedford Crematorium, in Bedford, England, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. 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 died, Tuesday Feb. 2, 2021. (Joe Giddens/Pool Photo via AP)
LONDON (AP) — A World War II-era plane flew Saturday over the funeral service of Captain Tom Moore to honor of the veteran who single-handedly raised millions of pounds for Britain’s health workers by walking laps in his backyard.
Soldiers performed ceremonial duties at the service for the 100-year-old Moore, whose charity walk inspired the nation and raised almost 33 million pounds ($46 million.) Captain Tom, as he became known, died Feb. 2 in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
The private service was small, attended by just eight members of the veteran’s immediate family. But soldiers carried his coffin, draped in the Union flag, from the hearse to a crematorium and formed a ceremonial guard. Others performed a gun salute, before a C-47 Dakota military jet flew past.
“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. “I know you will be watching us chuckling, saying ‘Don’t be too sad as something has to get you in the end.’”
A version of the song “Smile,” recorded for the funeral by singer Michael Bublé, was played, as well as “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, as requested by Moore. A bugler sounded “The Last Post” to close the service.
Moore, who served in India, Burma and Sumatra during WWII, set out to raise a modest 1,000 pounds for Britain’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps of his backyard by his 100th birthday last year. But his quest went viral, catching the imagination of millions stuck at home during the first wave of the pandemic.
His positive attitude – “Please remember, tomorrow will be a good day” became his trademark phrase – inspired the nation at a time of crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him as a “hero in the truest sense of the word.″
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July in a socially distanced ceremony at Windsor Castle, west of London.
Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
