British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has led the tributes to Colonel Tom Moore on his 100th birthday.
The WWII veteran reached the milestone age on Thursday (30.04.20) after raising £30 million for the NHS Charities Together by walking laps of his garden and to mark the occasion, a host of famous faces wished Tom a very happy birthday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a special message on ‘BBC Breakfast’ saying: "Captain Tom, I know I speak for the whole country when I say ‘We wish you a very happy 100th birthday’. Your heroic efforts have lifted the spirits of the entire nation. You’ve created a channel to enable millions to say a heartfelt thank you to the remarkable men and women in our NHS who are doing the most astounding job."
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall also sent a birthday card to the retired army officer, and Duchess Camilla reached out in a special video message to honour his efforts.
She said: "That wonderful man, Captain Tom, walking around and raising all that money – that sort of thing makes you proud to be British, doesn’t it."
Tom recently became the oldest artist to have a song reach number one when his and Michael Ball’s cover of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ reached the top spot of the charts and Michael sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to his duet partner on TV.
He told the birthday boy: "You’re the only man who would get me into a smart shirt, tie and suit on a lockdown. I love the bones of you, sir, and thank you for letting me be part of this journey with you."
‘This Morning’ co-presenter Holly Willoughby paid tribute to Tom by wearing a poppy dress honouring the World War soldiers.
Sharing a snap of her outfit on Instagram, she wrote: "Happy 100th Birthday to Colonel Tom Moore… sending you huge amounts of love… See you all on @thismorning at 10am."
Tom received two military flypasts, a Great Western Railway intercity express train has been named in his honour and his local postbox had been repainted in the colours of the NHS to mark the occasion.
What’s more, Queen Elizabeth II honoured the Captain by promoting him to Colonel Tom Moore, while her personal representative in Bedfordshire, delivered a birthday card to Tom from the monarch.
A message on The Royal Family’s Twitter account read: "This morning @LLieutenantBeds, The Queen’s personal representative in Bedfordshire, delivered a birthday card to @captaintommoore from Her Majesty. Today we join people across the UK and around the world in wishing Captain Tom Moore a very happy 100th birthday."
Tom – who has also been re-presented with his Second World War Defence Medal ahead of next week’s VE Day celebrations – tweeted: "Just received a rather special birthday card from Her Majesty The Queen @RoyalFamily."
Many other stars paid tribute via social media, with Wet Wet Wet’s Marti Pellow writing: "Today’s Lockdown Session Somewhere Somehow is dedicated to Captain Tom Moore – happy birthday! – and all the staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, you are all doing a fantastic job, thank you love to love Marti x"
Footballer Harry Kane wrote: "Happy birthday @captaintommoore! An incredible inspiration. Have a great day."
And speaking on ‘Good Morning Britain’, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid said: "As the whole country has been going through such misery and hardship and loss you have been like this shining beacon of hope and inspiration."
Boris Johnson leads birthday tributes to Colonel Tom Moore
