Captain Tom Moore's NHS appeal tops £32m on 100th birthday

The appeal by NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore topped £32m as he celebrated his 100th birthday.

The war veteran, who raised the money by walking laps of his garden, has also been made an honorary colonel.

The occasion was also marked with an RAF flypast and birthday greetings from the Queen and prime minister.

With celebrations under way, Capt Tom said everyone who donated was "magnificent" as the fund reached £30m on Thursday morning.

Head of the Army, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, called Capt Tom "an inspirational role model".

Capt Tom said it was "extraordinary" to be turning 100, especially with "this many well-wishers".

Capt Tom was spending most of the day self-isolating with his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her family at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.

"Reaching 100 is quite something. Reaching 100 with such interest in me and huge generosity from the public is very overwhelming," he said.

"People keep saying what I have done is remarkable, however it's actually what you have done for me which is remarkable.

"Please always remember, tomorrow will be a good day."

Capt Tom, who was recently treated for a broken hip and skin cancer, initially aimed to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together and said he set about raising the money "for the sake of the nurses and the NHS we have, because they are doing such a magnificent job".

His donations page will close at midnight but Capt Tom said people could still give money directly to the charity via their urgent appeal.

The charity's chief executive Ellie Orton said "what he has achieved will make a lasting difference".

"We cannot thank him enough for all that he's achieved and we wish him a very happy birthday, and look forward to continuing to ensure that what he's done is used to improve the lives of the NHS staff and volunteers that are giving so much to their communities at the moment," she said.

Among the thousands of birthday greetings was a personalised card from the Queen.

"I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one hundredth birthday," she wrote.

"I was also most interested to hear of your recent fundraising efforts for NHS Charities Together at this difficult time.

"I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Elizabeth R."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson recorded a special message in which he said the veteran was "a point of light in all our lives".

"I know I speak for the whole nation when I say we wish you a very happy 100th birthday," he said.

"Your heroic efforts have lifted the spirits of the entire nation, you've created a channel to enable millions to say a heartfelt thank you to the remarkable men and women in our NHS who have all been doing the most outstanding job."

Capt Tom said it was "really outstanding" to get a message from Mr Johnson.

Capt Tom was informed of his promotion to honorary colonel in a letter presented by Lt Col Thomas Miller, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, at his home.

The Army said Chief of the General Staff, Sir Mark, who made the appointment, said Capt Tom's "mature wisdom, no-nonsense attitude and humour in adversity make him an inspirational role model to generations".

Capt Tom said he was "very moved" by the honour because to get that honorary rank in his regiment is "something we would never, ever anticipate".

"I'm still Captain Tom, that's who I really am but if people choose to call me colonel, well, thank you very much."

The centenarian was also presented with a replacement World War Two Defence Medal ahead of next week's VE Day celebrations.

The birthday has also been marked by a flypast of a Spitfire and Hurricane from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, based at RAF Coningsby, which made three passes of his house.

The Ministry of Defence had said it would "celebrate Captain Tom's birthday and mark his amazing fundraising achievement".

Sqd Ldr Mark Discombe, Hurricane LF365 pilot, said it was a "huge privilege" for the Memorial Flight to be selected.

"I think it encapsulates everything we stand for, commemorating what he did 75 years ago, [and] we're celebrating right now what he's achieved with all his fundraising for the NHS and inspiring the future for us all to pull together and work through this pandemic".

Capt Tom said it was "fantastic" to see them, that he remembered the planes flying "in anger" and "fortunately today they were flying peacefully".

Capt Tom is also celebrating his birthday as a chart-topper.

His duet of You'll Never Walk Alone took the top spot last week, making him the oldest person ever to achieve a number one single in the UK.

His partner on the song, Michael Ball, sang happy birthday to him via video-link and said he was "the only man who could get him in a smart shirt and suit during lockdown".

Volunteers had to be called in to open tens of thousands of cards sent to Capt Tom, who served in India and Burma (now Myanmar) during World War Two.

An estimated 140,000 cards have been received and are on show at Bedford School, where his grandson, Benjie Ingram-Moore, is a pupil.

Many of the envelopes on the cards will be stamped with a special Royal Mail postmark.

All stamped post up until Friday was being marked with: "Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020."

The cards even travelled through a dedicated collection box at the South Midlands Mail Centre.

Centre manager Stephen James said: "None of the team have ever known one person receive so much mail."

Capt Tom's fundraising feats have inspired a host of artists to honour him with their own creative tributes, including garage murals, patchwork collages, knitted dolls and balloon figurines.

The BBC's Make A Difference project encouraged people to take photographs of themselves saluting the war veteran which were combined to make a mosaic that was presented to him.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk