Captain Tom Moore says he is ‘very proud’ after being awarded a gold Blue Peter badge for raising nearly £33million for the NHS
- Gold badge is Blue Peter’s highest accolade and has been awarded to the Queen
- Captain Tom Moore was bestowed with the badge for his fundraising efforts
- The war veteran, 100, raised over £30m for the NHS amid coronavirus crisis
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A beaming Captain Tom Moore said he was ‘very proud’ after being bestowed with a gold Blue Peter badge for his astonishing fundraising efforts for the NHS.
The war veteran, who walked 100 laps of his garden, raised over £30million by the time he celebrated his 100th birthday last week and is now closing in on £33m.
Moore was appointed as an honorary colonel on his big day while a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast of a Spitfire and a Hurricane was organised by the RAF to mark his efforts.
Captain Tom Moore (M) has received the gold Blue Peter badge after raising over £30m for the NHS. His grandchildren Benji (R) and Georgia (L) surprised him with the badge on Wednesday
The gold badge is Blue Peter’s highest accolade and famous recipients include the Queen
The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis, the Queen’s representative in the county, also delivered Captain Tom a birthday card from the monarch.
Tom has now received another high accolade in recognition of his fundraising efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The gold badge, which he was presented with on Wednesday, is Blue Peter’s highest accolade and famous recipients include the Queen, Sir David Attenborough and Mary Berry.
Only a handful are presented each year to outstanding individuals who have achieved something extraordinary in their field; who are considered to be role models; and who encourage and motivate children across many generations.
Presenter Lindsey Russell enlisted the help of Tom’s grandchildren, Benji and Georgia, in order to surprise him with the badge and to comply with social distancing measures.
Announcing that he had received the award, she told him: ‘We at Blue Peter think it is brilliant what you have achieved and what you have done over the past couple of weeks, the money and attention you have raised.
‘As Benji so rightly put it, during this time of darkness you are such a beacon of light … on Blue Peter our highest accolade is the gold Blue Peter badge and it is something that the Queen, amongst a few others, have got, so on behalf of Blue Peter and our wonderful audience we would like to award you with our highest accolade, which is our old Blue Peter badge.’
Captain Tom replied: ‘That’s absolutely amazing, thank you very much. I am very proud to receive it because I have always been a great follower of Blue Peter – I remember the elephant, which is quite a few years ago now!
Tom was also appointed an honorary colonel and enjoyed a fly-by on 100th birthday last week
The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis (left), the Queen’s representative in the county, delivered Captain Tom a birthday card from the monarch to mark his special occasion
‘Thank you very much indeed; I really am delighted to have this.’
Captain Tom has captured the hearts of the nation and was described as ‘a point of light’ by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his special birthday last week.
Tom, who served in the Second World War, has also shared his memories of the end of the conflict ahead of VE Day on May 8, saying: ‘Everybody was going round arm in arm; London was absolutely packed with people dancing about, absolutely thrilled with the fact that at last we had got through the war in Europe and it was a great day.’
Asked what his comrades would say if they could see him doing the laps around his garden, he said: ‘I think they would say ‘well done’. The comradeship throughout the war was great and continued afterwards until we got to the 65th year of the reunion and I was the only one left.’
The special episode of Blue Peter will air on May 7 on CBBC at 5.30pm and will be available on BBC iPlayer.