Train operator Great Western Railway (GWR) is to name a train in honour of the veteran who has raised more than £29 million for the NHS to mark his 100th birthday.
GWR Intercity Express Train 800025 will pay tribute to Captain Tom Moore and his remarkable fundraising achievements during the Covid-19 crisis.
It is being named in response to requests from both GWR colleagues and members of the public, re-entering service on Thursday 30 April, 2020 – the date of Captain Tom’s 100th birthday.
World War Two veteran Captain Tom, from Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire [and was stationed in Cornwall during his career], has extended his challenge to 200 laps after he completed the first 100 laps 14 days ahead of schedule.
His initial £1,000 fundraising target was broken in about 24 hours and he has now raised more than £29m for NHS Charities Together.
GWR Interim Managing Director Matthew Golton said:
“With his indomitable spirit what Captain Tom has achieved is truly inspirational, and an example to us all.
“We at Great Western have a long history of naming trains after Great Westerners, the past and present heroes from across our network, and I am honoured that today we can respond to requests to have a train named after Captain Tom Moore.”
The Class 800 Intercity Express Train will go into service carrying its new name on Thursday and will carry key workers travelling to and from work on the Great Western network.
Following Government advice against all non-essential travel, GWR is operating a reduced timetable. The focus remains on running services that can be relied on at this time of uncertainty, providing essential transport for key workers to get to and from work.
Stay at Home. Save Lives.
Captain Tom Moore
Captain Tom captured the hearts of the nation during the Covid-19 crisis, raising more than £29m for NHS Charities Together.
The Second World War veteran originally hoped to raise £1,000 before his 100th birthday, but his pledge to walk 100 laps of his garden went viral and more than one million people donated to his JustGiving page.
Captain Tom’s fundraising feat was further boosted when his duet of You’ll Never Walk Alone, with musicals legend Michael Ball, reached No1.
Originally from Keighley in West Yorkshire, Captain Tom joined the British Army in June 1940. His regiment – the 8th Battalion, the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment ¬– trained in Wadebridge, Cornwall, tasked with coastal defence against a threatened German invasion. He later served on the frontline in Burma.
Captain Tom completed 100 laps of the 25-metre (82ft) loop of his garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, before his birthday on 30 April, leading to praise from the Royal Family, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other famous faces, as well as calls for him to be given a knighthood.