‘Inspirational’ war veteran, 99, completes 100 laps as NHS fundraiser tops £13m [UK]

Yahoo UK News ^ | April 16 2020 | Andy Wells

[Winniesboy]

A 99-year-old Second World War veteran has raised more than £13m for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden.

Captain Tom Moore, who lives with his family in Bedfordshire, completed the final four 25-metre lengths with a special guard of honour by the 1st battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment.

...Capt Moore’s original target was to raise £1,000 ahead of his 100th birthday. But donations to his Tom’s Walk for the NHS fundraiser have since soared past £13m.

…He has received multiple messages of thanks from NHS workers, sports personalities and politicians....

Moore, who aimed to complete the walk before he turns 100 on 30 April, originally hoped to raise £1,000 but smashed his target within days.

... His achievements were singled out by [Health Secretary] Matt Hancock during the Wednesday evening press conference at Downing Street. "I want to pay a special tribute today to Captain Tom Moore. Captain Tom, you’re an inspiration to us all, and we thank you.”

Originally from Keighley in West Yorkshire, Capt Moore trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the British Army for the Second World War, rising to captain and serving in India and Burma.

[mewzilla]

A fundraiser for a government organization?

Which, last I knew, is the UK’s largest employer.

If the UK did away with some of the bureaucrats, the NHS would have more money to spend on patient care.

[MuttTheHoople]

In contrast, here's an uninspirational war veteran

[dp0622]

i can complete 100 laps. Depends on how big the bowl is though

[FES0844]

I’m still laughing. That was a good one!

[CommerceComet]

The greatest generation, indeed!!

[Winniesboy]

A fundraiser for a government organization?

This isn't the only one. There are NHS fundraisers happening all over the place, though none so spectacularly successful as this one, which seems to have caught the public imagination in big way.

As well as the fundraisers, there are the 5000+ volunteers in support roles for the NHS for the duration of the crisis.

[mewzilla]

Winnie, the NHS is top heavy, horrifically inefficient, and not patient-centric.

Sick folks aren’t patients, or even consumers. They’re grist for the mill.

[Winniesboy]

Thank you for instructing me in the qualities of an organisation I know rather well. With respect, it's probable that I know a great deal more about the subject than you, having been a patient of the NHS for every one of the 71 years of its existence.

I'm not going to respond to what you say - were I to do so, it would be at a length which I fear would tax the patience of Freepers, and it's unlikely I'd be believed anyway. The NHS and health care generally are among those Mars vs Venus issues which always end in mutual transatlantic incomprehension, and I find it best to steer clear of debating them.