Captain Sir Tom Moore’s grandson says it would be ‘really nice’ to have a statue of his war hero grandfather so people have somewhere to ‘pay their respects’
- NHS fundraiser and WWII veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore died on Tuesday
- Mail has led the campaign for a permanent statue to be made in his honour
- Grandson Tom Teixeira said it would be ‘very nice’ to have memorial to visit and pay respects at
- Yorkshire sculptor already has bronze statue of Sir Tom he had made last year
The family of fundraising hero Captain Sir Tom Moore have welcomed calls for a statue to be made in his honour.
The Mail has led the campaign for the WWII veteran to be commemorated for his incredible charity walk that raised £33million for NHS charities and inspired the nation.
His grandson Tom Teixeira said it would be ‘really nice’ to have a permanent memorial where people could pay their respects to him.
Reflecting on his grandfather’s life, he said he was not just a ‘war hero and a fund-raising machine, but a family man’.
Captain Sir Tom Moore’s grandson Tom Teixeira said it would be ‘really nice’ to have a permanent memorial where people could pay their respects to him
The Mail has led the campaign for the WWII veteran to be commemorated for his incredible charity walk that raised £33million for NHS charities and inspired the nation. Pictured: How the statue could look
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain yesterday, Mr Teixeira said his family welcomed the idea of a lasting tribute to the hero.
‘I don’t think we were expecting anything like that but it’s really nice to think that people would like to do that for our grandfather,’ he said.
‘I can see it happening and it would be very nice to have a memorial like that where we can all go visit and pay our respects to him.’
Boris Johnson last night joined the Mai’s campaign for a permanent public memorial to Captain Tom, saying it was something that the country could get behind.
Tom Teixeira (pictured left with grandfather Captain Tom and brother Max) has spoken of the ‘lovely memories’ of bike rides he shared with his grandfather
Tom Teixeira, who posted an emotional tribute on Instagram (pictured), said the war veteran ‘wouldn’t slow down for anyone’, including his own grandson, as he lovingly recounted memories of his hero grandfather
Yesterday at 6pm Britain came to a standstill to clap for a man who fought for his country both in the war and when the pandemic hit.
Asked about the Mail campaign, Mr Johnson told a Downing Street news conference: ‘On the issue of a statue for Captain Tom Moore, a public memorial of some kind to Captain Tom, I’m absolutely of course open to that.
‘I know that that’s the kind of thing that people would want to support and we’ll be working with his family to see what they feel is most appropriate and be taking that forward… so I think your campaign is an excellent one.’
And his positive messages – such as ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’ – gave hope during what the Prime Minister yesterday called the country’s ‘deepest post-war crisis’.
Mr Teixeira said of his grandfather’s motto: ‘I think it’s very important that the whole nation takes on his saying, because currently it’s such bleak times.
‘We don’t know when the end might be but, like he said, tomorrow will be a good day, even if we’re struggling now.
‘He’s reunited with my grandma, he’s looking down on us now, all of us, saying “we can get through this and tomorrow will be a better day”.’
Speaking from outside his home in Bristol, he added: ‘It’s been a really sad few days for the family and the kind words from everyone have been so overwhelming.’
As the campaign to have Captain Tom immortalised with a statue continues, one Yorkshire sculptor believes he may already have the solution — a life-size statue he made earlier but has yet to find a home for.
The bronze sculpture of Sir Tom had been sitting in a warehouse for months after councils near his hometown of Keighley couldn’t find a spot to display it publicly.
Tony Clark, 44, a sculptor from Leeds, unveiled the £60,000 statue today two days after the 100-year-old veteran’s death from Covid-19.
Commissioned six months ago by Clark and his friend Keith Sharratt, the pair hope it will be used to ‘immortalise’ Sir Tom in his home town, Keighley, in Bradford.