AA SPECIAL CAPTAIN TOM MOORE
LT COLONEL THOMAS MOORE AKA “CAPTAIN TOM” MILITARY HISTORIAN, WILL FOWLER, TAKES A BRIEF LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF A MAN WHOSE DETERMINATION EARNED HIM THE GRATITUDE AND RESPECT OF AN ENTIRE NATION.
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f you live outside of the UK, the name “Captain Tom” might not be familiar to you but here, he is a national hero. On the 6th April, at the ripe old age of 99, Captain Tom, a former British Army officer, began to walk laps of his garden aiming to reach his goal of raising £1,000 in aid of NHS Charities Together by his 100th birthday, on the 30th. His challenge captured the British public’s hearts and donations started pouring in, so much so that on the morning of the 30th April the total raised by his walk had passed £30 million and by the end of the day (and his long walk), was just shy of £33 million! His 100th birthday was marked by with a flypast from the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a video call from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres and a personalised birthday card from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. He was also appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College and featured in a cover version of the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, with the sale proceeds going to the same charity. The single topped the UK music charts and made Captain Tom the oldest person to have a 36
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number one single! Tom Moore was born on April 30, 1920. His parents and family were local builders in Keighley, Yorkshire, where he spent much of his life. He attended Keighley Grammar School as a child, and later went on to complete an apprenticeship as a Civil Engineer. But in 1940, aged 20 he enlisted in the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (8 DWR), The Regiment was stationed in Cornwall as part of 203 Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) to defend the coast as the threat of a German invasion. He was selected for officer training in 1940 and posted to an Officers Training Unit (OTU) before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 28 June 1941. In November 1941 8 DWR was re-rolled as an armoured regiment 145 Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (RAC). All personnel continued to wear their DWR cap badge but on the RAC black beret. Later, Tom Morre was transferred to 9 DWR , which left Liverpool for India on August 28, 1941 arriving in Bombay on October 25, 1941, then, on November 1, 1941 it was re-rolled as 146 Regiment RAC and drew its first three Valentine tanks. By October 1942
