Queen will send Captain Tom Moore a personalised telegram when he turns 100 – as his fundraising total nears £30m
- Producers at BBC Breakfast worked alongside Buckingham Palace to organise it
- Tom has raised more than £29million for the NHS and holds the UK No1 single
- He has already received around 100,000 birthday cards ahead of Thursday
Captain Tom Moore will be honoured with an RAF flypast, as well as receiving a personalised telegram from the Queen to mark his 100th birthday.
Producers at BBC Breakfast worked alongside Buckingham Palace to organise the celebrations to mark the war hero’s big day on Thursday.
Tom – who has raised more than £29million for the NHS and currently holds the UK No1 single – will have the entire programme dedicated to his life and achievements.
A TV insider told The Sun that the team on Breakfast have been working with the palace on organising the telegram in time for the morning broadcast which they hope will come with a special message from Her Majesty.
Captain Tom Moore (pictured) rose to notoriety having raised over £29million for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden
They have also been working hard on organising a fly past which will honour Tom’s service to the country throughout his life.
The source said: ‘It’s going to be a really emotional day and they want to make it as memorable as possible for Tom by way of thanks for all he has done.
‘They’re lining up lots of surprises for him too. What Tom has achieved is the most incredible feat and the whole show will be dedicated to Tom and his special day.’
Richard Frediani, editor of BBC Breakfast, said plans were still be confirmed but added: ‘Having followed Captain Tom’s incredible story from the start the UK’s most watched morning show will make sure the nation can safely come together to celebrate Captain Tom’s 100th birthday on Thursday morning on BBC Breakfast.’
A TV insider told The Sun that the team on Breakfast have been working with the palace on organising the telegram in time for the morning broadcast which they hope will come with a special message from Her Majesty (pictured)
Talking about his birthday on BBC Radio 2 today, Tom said: ‘I am hoping we shall have a little family party, we can’t have a big one.
‘We can’t all stand close together so maybe we will have a good party afterwards when we can all come. I might have a little drink.’
Since he started walking laps of his garden at the start of the month, Tom has raised just over £29million for NHS Charities Together. His original target was £500,000.
Yesterday it was revealed that the army veteran had received some 100,000 cards and 1,000 presents ahead of his birthday this week. Bedford School’s Great Hall transformed into a sorting office for the deliveries.
Bedford School’s Great Hall transformed into a sorting office for Captain Tom Moore’s birthday cards
War hero Captain Moore is pictured with his two daughters Lucy and Hannah in a post on his Twitter account
Captain Tom Moore, who lives in Bedfordshire, said he was ‘blown away’ by the outpouring of kindness from the public in anticipation of the celebration.
His eldest daughter Lucy Teixeira said: ‘At last count my dad has had around 100,000 cards and a thousand gifts of everything from chocolate and flowers.’
The Second World War veteran also recorded a version of You’ll Never Walk Alone with singer Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir, which saw even more money raised for charity.
From Yorkshire to India: Captain Tom Moore’s career in the military
Captain Tom Moore was conscripted into the British Army in June 1940 when he was 20, alongside all men aged 20 to 35.
He began his military career in Otley, West Yorkshire, where he joined the 8th Battalion, the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment under Lieutenant Lord George Saville.
The Regiment was sent to train in Wadebridge, Cornwall where they were tasked with coastal defence amid a predicted German invasion.
A young Captain Moore was soon promoted to Corporal and sent to the officer cadet training unit in Droitwich Spa.
Here, he celebrated his 21st birthday after he passed as a Second Lieutenant.
In August 1941, he was sent to the DWR headquarters in Halifax where he joined the 9th Battalion at Winchcombe.
The infantry battalion then converted to an armoured regiment 146th Royal Armoured Corp, though the majority of the soldiers could not drive.
In October, the unit was posted to Bombay, now Mumbai, in India. The journey took six weeks by sea, with a four-day delay in Freetown, Sierra Leone and a four-day stop in Cape Town.
Captain Moore then took a train from Bombay to Poona, before arriving at Kirkee, a town now known as Khadki.
The 9th DWR formed the 50th Indian Tank Brigade under the command of Brigadier Schreiber.
Captain Moore was then asked by the Brigadier to start a motorcycling course for the Brigade due to his expertise for the sport.
The Brigade was then ordered to move to Calcutta – the road journey was in a monsoon and took three weeks.
His Battalion was stationed in the Lohardaga district near Ranchi.
They then took part in two exercises in the Arakan before moving further east and south to Rangoon.
Captain Moore was then sent on a course at the approved vehicle depot in Bovington, England.
He remained here as an instructor until it was closed.
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