The United Kingdom paid a final tribute this Saturday to its hero “Captain Tom”, a veteran famous for having raised a record sum for public health during the pandemic, at a televised funeral with military honors.
The coffin of Tom Moore, who died at the age of 100, was taken to the crematorium in Bedford (central England), wrapped in the British flag and with his medals on top, by six soldiers of the Yorkshire Regiment, in which he served during the Second World War.
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Before the start of the ceremony, broadcast live on television, a plane that participated in the conflict flew over the place under a spring sun, while three salutes of honor were fired.
But due to the confinement, in force since the beginning of January in the United Kingdom to fight against the coronavirus, only eight relatives attended the funeral: his two daughters, four grandchildren, and two sons-in-law.
– “Your message” endures –
“Dad, I am very proud of you, of what you have accomplished in your whole life and especially in the last year,” said his daughter Lucy Teixeira.
“You may be gone, but your message and your spirit endure,” she added at the funeral, which opened with a song recorded by “Captain Tom” with star Michael Ball: the Liverpool FC anthem “You’ll Never Walk. Alone,” which became a symbol of mutual aid during the pandemic.
Tom Moore, who was 99 years old during the first lockdown in the spring of 2020, had initially set a modest goal of raising 1,000 pounds ($ 1,400) to help the national health service, overwhelmed by patients suffering from the virus. To do this, he promised to walk the 25 meters of his garden one hundred times before he turned 100.
The image of the veteran leaning over his walker and advancing at all costs moved the British people, for their feeling of gratitude towards the medical personnel.
Donations poured in, and Moore ended up raising nearly £ 33 million ($ 42 million), the most ever raised by a single person for a charitable cause.
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His exploits made him a celebrity. He had already received military honors for his 100th birthday, before being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, in an act in which he was allowed out of confinement.
The death of “Captain Tom” on February 2 in the hospital, after contracting pneumonia and coronavirus, sparked a shower of tributes, including those of the Queen, the White House and the United Nations.
– “A little line in the newspaper” –
“If there’s one lesson I’ve learned living with you over the past three years, it’s the power of positivity and kindness,” said her grandson Benjie.
In accordance with “Captain Tom’s” wishes, Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way” closed the ceremony, before the army’s funeral march, known as “The Last Post”, was followed by a minute of silence.
Thousands of messages of sympathy were recorded in an online condolence book, as the family called on the public to stay home and abide by official guidelines.
In a book he wrote, the last chapter of which was revealed by the family before its publication on April 2, “Captain Tom” said he found it “curious and very moving” that his passing brought people to tears he did not know. “Before, my funeral would only have left a little line in the local newspaper.”
“Few people will have heard of Sir Tom before this crisis, but his contribution and example now live on in all of us,” said Defense Minister Ben Wallace.
When the confinement measures are relaxed, his ashes will be buried in Yorkshire (north), in the family crypt with his parents and grandparents.