Coronavirus: Prince Harry congratulates Captain Tom Moore, 99, after he raises millions for UK health service

The World War II veteran set himself the target of walking around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday on April 30

He has raised over 25 million pounds for the country’s health service as it battles the Covid-19 outbreak

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Retired British Army Captain Tom Moore, 99, has raised millions of pounds for health workers by walking around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:30pm, 19 Apr 2020Updated: 6:06am, 20 Apr 2020

Captain Tom Moore, a 99-year-old British war veteran described by Prince Harry as “utterly amazing”, has now raised more than 25 million pounds (US$31.3 million) for the health service by walking 100 laps of his garden.

The World War II veteran, who has used a walking frame with wheels since breaking his hip, set himself the target of walking the 25 metres around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday on April 30.

He completed his task on Thursday.

Cyclists look at a hoarding honouring Captain Tom Moore, the army veteran who has raised millions for the NHS, in Piccadilly Circus, London. Photo: AP

Prince Harry said in an interview published on Sunday that he was honoured to be an army veteran in the company of people like Moore.

“Congratulations to Tom. What he’s done is utterly amazing. It’s not just what he’s done but it’s the reaction that people have had as well. Just wonderfully British,” Harry told the Declassified podcast for ex-servicemen and women.

Moore’s original target was to raise 1,000 pounds, but that modest aim was blown away as media attention from around the globe zoomed in on his garden in Bedfordshire, central England.

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