An inspiration to the nation

Captain Tom Moore reached one hundred and has become an inspiration
to the whole nation after beating Covid19 and raising £30,000,000
for the NHS in a sponsored walk around his garden.

He captured the imagination of people locked down in an effort to
stem the endless list of death that we are reading on a daily basis.

Captain Tom Moore served his country in WW2 in the jungles of Burma,
he saw Spitfires and Hurricanes “Flying in anger” in those dark wartime
days.

Now, in a few short weeks leading up to his 100th. birthday, the veteran
of WW2 has served the nation again, bringing not only a vast thirty
million pound boost to the NHS but a much more valuable commodity
to each and every one of us – optimism, faith and hope that this terrible
invisible enemy can be beaten. He is so convincing and his message
that “Tomorrow will be a good day” has been seized upon by people
who have been so confined and to doctors, nurses and all the essential
workers who have carried on despite personal danger.

Today (30 April 2020) he has been honoured on his birthday by The
Prime Minister, his regiment, who have promoted him to colonel, the
Royal Air Force with a Battle of Britain Fly-past and the MCC who
have made him a member of the English Cricket Team. On his birthday
he also became the oldest person ever to become Number One in the
music charts with Never Walk Alone.

A small connection with Rye – The 150,000 cards that Captain Tom received
for his birthday were sorted at Bedford School. It was to a school
in Bedford that Rye Grammar School was evacuated to in 1940.

Here at Rye’s Own we offer our own congratulations to Colonel Tom
Moore and also congratulate the BBC who have covered the story from
the start in such a dignified way. The BBC have come under a lot of
criticism of late but no one could fault their coverage of Captain
Tom and his families epic fund raising feat.

Jim Hollands