Captain Sir Tom Moore - Tomorrow is a Good Day

During the lockdown in 2020 we were all inspired by the news that an ex Army Officer was walking to raise money for NHS causes.

Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser. He made international headlines in April 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. He served in India and the Burma campaign during the Second World War, and later became an instructor in armoured warfare. After the war, he worked as managing director of a concrete company and was an avid motorcycle racer.

On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99 during the first COVID-19 national lockdown, Moore began to walk 100 lengths of his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his 100th birthday on 30 April. In the 24-day course of his fundraising, he made many media appearances and became a household name in the UK, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations.

In recognition of his efforts, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award at the 2020 ceremony. He performed in a cover version of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Michael Ball, with proceeds going to the same charity. The single topped the UK Singles Chart, making him the oldest person to achieve a UK number one.

On the morning of Moore's 100th birthday, the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day had increased to over £32.79 million (worth almost £39 million with expected tax rebates). His birthday was marked in a number of ways, including flypasts by the Royal Air Force and the British Army. He received over 150,000 cards, and was appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. On 17 July 2020, he was personally knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. He died in 2021 aged 100, at Bedford Hospital, where he was taken after being treated for pneumonia and then testing positive for COVID-19.

It was on hearing of Captain Tom's passing on 2nd February 2021 that I felt compelled to draw him as a tribute.

Title: Captain Sir Tom Moore - Tomorrow is a Good Day

Dimensions: A4 Framed

Medium: Graphite on 300gsm Fabriano Artistico hot pressed paper

I still have the framed drawing. It was initially my intention to send it to Captain Tom's family to auction but life got in the way and then the handling of the fundraising money by his daughter came under close scrutiny which somewhat very sadly tarnished his valiant efforts in the eyes of the public.

One day I will auction it in his memory and all of the money raised will go directly to NHS Causes.