Captain Tom Moore reveals Dame Vera Lynn sent him a letter after he finished his 100th lap for the NHS – but admits he’s ‘rather sorry’ about knocking her off the top of the charts with his You’ll Never Walk Alone fundraising single
- 99-year-old received touching tribute from the sweetheart of the armed forces
- Captain Tom said Dame Vera had visited the troops in Burma when he was there
- Claimed the singer Dame Vera had been ‘backing up this country for so long’
Captain Tom Moore today revealed that Dame Vera Lynn sent him a letter after he finished his 100th lap for the NHS.
The 99-year-old received the touching tribute from the sweetheart of the armed forces after he knocked her off the top of the singles charts with his You’ll Never Walk Alone fundraising single.
Captain Tom today said he was ‘rather sorry’ for scooping the top spot and said he was ‘amazed’ to have heard from Dame Vera.
Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain from his home in the Village of Marston Moretaine this morning he said: ‘She has always been a top person backing up this country for so long.
Dame Vera Lynn (pictured left during the war) sent Captain Tom a letter after he finished his 100th lap for the NHS (she is pictured right in 2010)
‘It was so kind of her to send me a lovely note.’
Piers asked Tom what was in the letter and Tom said he wasn’t going to reveal what Dame Vera had penned to him.
Tom added: ‘I feel rather sorry because she is such a superstar and has been on the top for so long and she was so good when I was in Burma and I saw her when we were there, she came to see us all’.
Piers said that while Dame Vera rallied around the troops in the Second World War, Tom was now returning the favour.
Captain Tom Moore appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning with his daughter Hannah (pictured together above)
Captain Moore was posted to India where he fought in the Arakan Campaign of 1942 to 1943 during the Second World War
Captain Tom has now been asked to open the Nightingale hospital in his native Yorkshire.
Tom has now raised over £26 million after he vowed to walk around his garden to raise funds for the NHS.
Tom then praised NHS nurses and doctors who are continuing to fight on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.
‘The cause we are running for is so good, our doctors and nurses are doing so well and continuing to do so with great heart, they are putting themselves in danger and serving everyone so well.’
The pensioner has been hailed for continuing to walk around his garden to raise money and Piers said many people have been concerned about his schedule.
War hero Captain Moore is pictured with his two daughters Lucy and Hannah in a post on his Twitter account
His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said they had been revising his media scheduHle and stated they were scheduling times for him to have breaks.
People have since started campaigns for Tom to be knighted and Tom said the generosity of people had been amazing.
He said: ‘It’s unbelievable, it’s difficult to imagine, that sort of money that has been coming in from kind people all over the county.
‘To the NHS and back up people and all doctors and services throughout the world, we have got to say well done to all of you because you are putting yourself into danger and doing it cheerfully’.
He also hinted that he was able to speak to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and said he thought it was ‘amazing’ that the two had been given the opportunity to speak.
Originally from Keighley in West Yorkshire, Captain Moore trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the Army for the Second World War, rising to captain and serving in India and Burma
‘It’s been like being in fairy land because all of this is coming on and people like you are speaking to me and it’s helping all the time for more contributions to come in.’
Hannah said it had been an inspiring time for the family and that both her and her father were still ‘amazed’ by the generosity of the general public.
Our life has changed in the last five days.
‘Every day something extraordinary happens.’
She added: ‘We simply remain a happy family and utterly humbled by the support of the public.’