We are all in need of some good news in these challenging times.
Covid-19 maybe be taking up most of the air space at the moment, but there is one positive, inspirational news story that has dominated the media.
Everyone loves Captain Tom Moore, but what made this such a great story?
It’s a numbers game and you can’t ignore the numbers here. He was 99 years old when the story started, his goal was 100 laps before his 100th birthday. Google 100 year old war hero, and he covers the first three pages. Not bad for a man walking with a frame in his garden, but of course (and excuse the pun) this story has legs. There is just so much more to this modest Second World War veteran.
He was inspired by the NHS, after his treatment for a broken hip, and wanted to help them. His ambition and achievement is highly topical and relevant, highlighting the great work that the NHS performs daily, by staff who are often undervalued, underfunded and under appreciated.
Yesterday, to mark @captaintommoore‘s 100th birthday a Spitfire and a Hurricane from @RAFBBMF performed a flypast over his house in the morning, followed by a Wildcat and Apache from the @ArmyAirCorps in the afternoon.
Find out more about @RAFBBMF👇https://t.co/LcZqFdV7oY pic.twitter.com/p7lmKywLbc
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 1, 2020
It’s also brim packed with human interest and the warmth that we need in this uncertain time. We have the back story of his second world war history, his promotion from Captain to Colonel by the Army Foundation College for his amazing fund raising success, and the support of armed forces, culminating in the Spitfire and Hurricane fly by in honour of his centenary and completion of his walking challenge.
There are many quotes from Captain Tom that we could use, but in what is an unprecedented time for us, this one puts it all in context:
“I’m one of the few people here who’ve seen Hurricanes and Spitfires flying past in anger. Fortunately today they’re all flying peacefully.”
Difficult times will always happen, and they will pass, but amazing fund raising heroes like Captain Tom Moore are very rare. We can all learn a lot from him and his story.
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