At the beginning of April 2020, few people had heard about him, by the middle of that month he had become a media phenomenon. By the end of the month, there were calls for him to be knighted. But why, who is he?
He is Tom Moore, a Yorkshire man, born in Keighley on April 30th, 1920. After attending the local Grammar school, Tom joined the British Army at the start of the second world war, serving in India and Myanmar (Burma) in the rank of captain. In 2007, aged 87, he moved to Marston Moretain, Bedfordshire, to live alongside his family.
What did he do?
Tom was turning 100 at the end of April, and he wanted to hold a party. But he was unable to do so due to the corona pandemic. Therefore, he decided to walk 100 laps in his garden over 3 weeks, which was a big challenge for him after a fractured hip, and asked his family and friends to sponsor him so that he could raise £1000 for the NHS.
Tom passed his initial target of £1000 within the first 24 hours, and as his story spread across the media, donations started to pour in. Ten days later (instead of 3 weeks) he had completed his 100 laps. His fundraising broke records, eventually passing £30 million as he celebrated his 100th birthday, and the Queen was amongst the 150,000 people who sent him birthday cards.
The armed forces from the 1st battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment formed a special guard of honour on the day he completed his walk, before a Spitfire and Hurricane flew over his garden, in honour. Captain Tom became ‘Colonel Tom’ after being awarded the honorary promotion by the Army Foundation College. He even reached the prized number one slot in the music charts with a duet with Michael Ball!
“I’m one of the few people here who have seen Hurricanes and Spitfires flying past in anger. Fortunately, today they’re all flying peacefully.”
What made Tom’s fundraising so successful?
In my view, Tom’s phenomenal success was a combination of 3 factors.
- What Tom stood for
The grit and determination of this frail old war veteran, standing defiantly in the face of the deadly coronavirus, and ‘getting on with his job’ undeterred, was a reminder to the nation of the courage shown by so many from his generation.
Pragmatism
Having recently recovered from a fractured hip Tom knew his limits. So, he set himself a realistic goal of 2.5km, or 100 laps around his garden aided by his walking frame. The message he conveyed was that anyone at any age can make a difference, and many did – inspired by him.
Hope and optimism
At a time of doom and gloom he gave hope to people in despair, ‘This too will come to pass’ was his message that uplifted the nation.
Gratitude
Having survived the horrors of the Second World war when many of his compatriots did not return, Tom was grateful for his long life. Also, having survived cancer and recently recovered from a fractured hip, Tom really valued the help he got from the NHS. So this was his way of showing his gratitude to the NHS, by giving something back which he knew would help the others in this time of need.
- Timing and the nation’s mood
With the onslaught of the corona pandemic, everyone was desperate. People feared for their lives and were feeling very vulnerable. They were looking for hope and were hungry for good news.
People were grateful to the NHS for the lifesaving work they were doing. There was a heightened awareness of the pressures the NHS was under with a shortage of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), doctors and nurses and Acute Care beds. Everyone wanted to do whatever they could to help and keep the NHS going and be there for them if and when needed. So the nation was very much in tune with what Tom was doing.
Also, due to the lockdown, people were stuck at home and had more time to watch TV and use social media.
Due to the lockdown every event in the world had been cancelled which led to an acute shortage of fresh content for the media channels. Reporters were unable to travel abroad due to the planes being grounded. Only news available to report was bad news – the rising death toll and shortages caused by the coronavirus around the world which was both frightening and depressing.
When Tom Moore set off on his sponsored walk, the media found in him a great story of courage and defiance, which was both positive and uplifting that they adopted him as their hero straight away.
With the 75th anniversary of the VE Day (Victory in Europe) around the corner, Tom as one of the few surviving World War 2 veterans gave an added appeal to the story.
- Technology and media
While what Tom stood for and the nation’s mood, made it unique and endearing story, it was the role played by the media, and the reach provided by technology that made it the success it was.
To the vast number of celestial and terrestrial media (radio and TV) channels pumping out news 24X7, Tom’s story was like an elixir. It provided them with an ongoing good news story to fill their air space for a whole month to uplift and enthral their audience.
Social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, spread the word and gave people the wherewithal to consume, comment and share the story far and wide, thereby giving people in lockdown with time in hands something positive to do.
To cap it all, the online donations platforms such as Just Giving and Virgin Money Giving made it simple and easy, for people who had heard the story and wanted to help, donate money from the safety of their homes.
That is what exactly happened – people and organisations in their thousands kept giving, to better their own record from the previous day. Money kept pouring in to reach a staggering £30 million by Tom’s birthday, beyond his wildest dreams!
So, was Tom Moore an accidental hero?
To me Tom is a hero without any doubt for what stood for and what he managed to achieve during such a short time during the final year of his life. As for his fundraising record, starting with target of one thousand Pounds (£1000) and ending up raising thrity million Pounds£30,000,000, three thousand percent (3000%), it will take a very long time and someone extraordinary to break it. So, rather than calling it an accident and Tom accidental hero, I prefer to call it a happy coincidence an extraordinary convergence people and circumstances that took place at a unique point in our history. And Tom was the catalyst the common thread they united and held people together.
Post script:
Capt Sir Tom Moore died at the age of 100 after testing positive for Covid, on 2nd February 2021.