UK's Captain Tom Moore dies of Covid, raised millions for frontliners

London - The World War Two veteran found fame through a fundraising walk for health workers fighting the coronavirus.

Captain Tom Moore, the British World War Two veteran who raised millions of pounds for health service workers on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus, has died aged 100 after contracting Covid-19, his family said on Tuesday.

Moore struck a chord with locked-down Britain by walking around his garden with the help of a frame to raise 38.9 million pounds ($53 million, approx. Dh194 million) for the National Health Service.

His endeavour and wit spread joy amid the grim news of the coronavirus outbreak: Moore's message to the world was that the sun would shine again and that the clouds would clear.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore," his daughters said in a statement.

Moore died on Tuesday morning at Bedford Hospital in central England. He had tested positive for Covid-19 on January 22 and was fighting pneumonia.

Over the last five years, Moore had been receiving treatment for prostate and skin cancer, his family said. He had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 due to the other medication he was taking.

When he started his sponsored walk at his home in the village of Marston Moretaine, 80km (50 miles) north of London, he hoped to raise 1,000 pounds.

Instead, he raised millions of pounds for the National Health Service, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, broke two Guinness world records, scored a No. 1 single in the pop charts, wrote an autobiography and helped set up a charity.

"We share our deepest condolences and sympathies with his family and loved ones at this incredibly sad time," Bedford Hospital's chief nurse Liz Lees said.

"We’d also like to say thank you, and pay tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore for the remarkable contribution he has made to the NHS."