ARMY boss General Sir Nicholas Carter gave 99-year-old war veteran Captain Tom Moore a shout out for his efforts to raise money for the NHS.
Chief of Defence Staff Sir Nicholas praised Captain Tom who raised £27 million for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday.
Sir Nick said: “We’ve even mobilised 99-year-old veterans.”
“Captain Tom Moore embodies the sense of serve and duty ingrained in all our armed forces.”
He said the Army – including Captain Tom – had pulled together as part of the national effort to fight coronavirus at the daily Downing Street briefing this evening.
Captain Tom originally set out to raise £1,000 through his JustGiving page but a staggering 1.3 million people made donations, smashing his initial target.
Sir Nick said the Armed forced had been working across the country to provide logistical support to the NHS and communities in remote parts of the UK.
He said: “I would say our role is entirely in support of heroic healthcare workers on the front line, with humility being our watchword in the way we give that support.”
“In all of my 40 years of service (the coronavirus crisis) is the single greatest logistic challenge.”
He said military personnel had been driving the distribution of PPE to hospitals, and had added 38 additional delivery routes across the UK – the equivalent of driving three times around the world.
The Army were the backbone of the workforce setting up the Nightingale hospitals around the country, and have also been helping deliver mobile testing units to get to care workers who can’t travel.
Already, 4000 Army personnel have been deployed across the UK to help, and there are a further 20,000 on standby.
Yesterday, the World War II veteran opened the new Nightingale hospital in Harrogate via video-link which his fund-raising helped build.
As he opened the NHS Nightingale hospital, he said: “All the doctors and nurses throughout the national service are doing such a magnificent job under very difficult conditions.
“Every day they’re putting themselves in harm’s way, night and morning, and they’re doing it with a determination that only we can do. And they are continuing to do that.”
“I think we must all say thank you very much to the National Health Service, all of you, not just the doctors and nurses but everyone throughout the whole system who are all doing such a magnificent job.”
Captain Tom will celebrate his birthday on April 30 – and has been sent 40,000 birthday cards.
Captain Tom’s cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone with Michael Ball was also played at the opening event today.
The song, which features the NHS Voices of Care Choir, topped The Official Big Top 40 chart on Sunday.
