War veteran Captain Tom Moore, 99, says he'd be 'amazed' to meet Queen amid petitions for knighthood

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Captain Tom Moore has told how he would “amazed” to meet the Queen amid calls for him to receive a knighthood after raising millions of pounds for the NHS to help fight coronavirus.

The Second World War veteran, 99, has raised more than £17 million for the health service by walking lengths of his garden and completed his 100th length on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed separate petitions calling for Tom to receive a knighthood for his effort, which has captured the hearts of the nation in recent days.

And discussing the prospect, the captain said: “I’d be amazed to have such an honour and meet our absolutely marvellous Queen. It’s unbelievable that it could happen.

 Captain Tom Moore, 99, poses with his walking frame doing a lap of his garden in the village of Marston Moretaine, 50 miles north of London
AFP via Getty Images

He told The Sun: “I’m a huge fan of everything Her Majesty has done for this country.”

Captain Tom thanked those who donated to his fundraiser, saying: “it’s out of this world.”

And he shared his own a message of hope for the public amid strict lockdown measures that have been extended for at least another three weeks.

“Remember we will get through it,” he said.

An NHS worker holds a Captain Tom message outside the Aintree University Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign
REUTERS

“It might take time but at the end of the day we will all be OK. The sun will shine on you again and the clouds will go away.”

One petition calling for the veteran to be knighted has so far garnered more than 450,000 signatures.

The petition calls for him to be recognised in the next honours list, which is due to be published on the Queen's official birthday in June.

Sonia Wilson, an NHS midwife, started the Change.org petition, saying that "it's given me and my colleagues a huge morale boost to watch Captain Moore over the last few days”.

Captain Tom Moore - In pictures

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After finishing the challenge at his Bedfordshire home on Thursday morning, he was asked for his reaction to the the campaign for him to be knighted.

He laughed and told BBC Breakfast: "It would be marvellous to have such an honour.. But I'm don't expect anything like that.”

The hashtag #knighthoodforcaptaintom has been trending after Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan called for him to receive the honour.

A poll among Evening Standard online readers shows 96 per cent of people believe he should be knighted.

His achievements – which started at a modest target of £1,000 last week, ahead of his 100th birthday on April 30 – were singled out by Matt Hancock during the Wednesday evening press conference at Downing Street.

In his opening address, the Health Secretary said: “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.”

Mr Moore began raising funds to thank NHS staff who treated him for a broken hip.

He has vowed to keep walking because he's knows the British public is behind him "every step of the way".

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