Captain Sir Tom Moore became famous for his fundraising efforts during the first coronavirus lockdown
By Katy Lewis
BBC News, Bedfordshire
With the charity set up in the name of Capt Sir Tom Moore the subject of a statutory inquiry and his daughter embroiled in a local planning row, the BBC looks at how the legacy of the man who won the nation’s hearts stands in the nation’s minds at the moment.
Captain Sir Tom Moore’s extraordinary fundraising efforts for National Health Service charities are part of Covid-19 pandemic history, but the charity set up by his family in his honour is no longer taking donations.
Just over a year ago, the Charity Commission launched an inquiry into the finances of the Captain Tom Foundation and a building which used the charity’s name when it first got planning permission must now be torn down.
How did it all start?
Image source, Getty Images
Capt Sir Tom won the nation’s hearts with his fundraising walk, which took in 100 laps of his garden
Capt Sir Tom, who was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, served in India and Myanmar, also known as Burma, during World War Two, but at the age of 99 he became an international star by walking laps around his garden.
Early in April 2020, near the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he said he wanted to complete 100 laps of his patio before his 100th birthday at the end of that month, in an attempt to raise an initial £1,000 for the National Health Service.
Image source, @captaintommoore
Capt Sir Tom Moore served in India and Burma during World War Two
At the time, the NHS was under pressure dealing with thousands of Covid-19 patients, and with the nation in lockdown and wanting to help in some way, a determined old man and his walking frame captured a moment and people donated in their droves.
He eventually raised a whopping £38m for NHS Charities Together, which works with a network of more than 230 NHS Charities across the UK to support the organisation.
Not only did his efforts encourage thousands to donate, but he inspired many to join his campaign.
A week before his 100th birthday, Capt Sir Tom became the oldest person ever to get to number one in the UK singles charts, when his duet of You’ll Never Walk Alone – with singer Michael Ball – took the top spot.
Image source, Getty Images
Capt Sir Tom was knighted by the Queen in July 2020
His 100th birthday on 30 April 2020 was marked with an RAF flypast, personal birthday greetings from the Queen and prime minister, and he was made an honorary colonel of the British Army.
On 17 July 2020, he was knighted for his fundraising efforts in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
When was the Captain Tom Foundation set up and what was it for?
Image source, PA Media
The Captain Tom Foundation was set up following the 100-year-old’s death
Capt Sir Tom died in February 2021 aged 100, with coronavirus.
He had become ill not long after his family took him on holiday to Barbados in December 2020 after British Airways paid for his flight, and he tested positive for Covid-19 in hospital in January.
His family said due to other medication he was receiving for pneumonia, he had been unable to be vaccinated.
After his death, the Captain Tom Foundation was set up by his family to support “causes close to Captain Sir Tom’s heart” – many of which are detailed on the charity’s website including the Florence Nightingale Hospice in Buckinghamshire, the Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes and national organisation Mind.
Why is it being investigated?
Image source, PA Media
Hannah Ingram-Moore is the daughter of Capt Sir Tom Moore
In February 2022, the Charity Commission announced it would be reviewing the accounts of the charity.
Grants of £160,000 were given to four charities by the Foundation in its first year, but it had paid more than £162,000 in management costs in the same period.
According to the published accounts, covering the charity’s first year from 5 May 2020 to 31 May 2021, it paid out grants to four charities worth £40,000 each, but spent £209,433 on support costs – including the £162,336 on “management”.
The financial statement also showed reimbursement costs of £16,097 paid to Club Nook Limited – a company run by Hannah Ingram-Moore, the younger of Capt Sir Tom’s two daughters, set up shortly before the formation of the charity.
The Foundation had said it welcomed the Charity Commission’s input.
In June 2022, the Commission said it had launched an inquiry into the Foundation amid concerns his family may have profited from using his name.
It said it was concerned about the charity’s independence from Club Nook, as well as the trustees’ decision-making and how the Foundation was governed.
Is the Captain Tom Foundation still raising money?
Image source, PA Media
The Captain Tom Foundation said it would “be in a better position to make a decision” about its future after the inquiry
It said its “sole focus…is to ensure that it cooperates fully with the on-going statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission”.
A statement added that when the inquiry concluded it would “be in a better position to make a decision in relation to its future”.
What about the planning row?
The spa (the C-shaped building to the right of the pond) is at the home where Capt Sir Tom Moore walked 100 laps of his garden in 2020
The Foundation’s announcement came as it was reported that Hannah Ingram-Moore, who lived with Capt Sir Tom, was told to knock down an unauthorised building used as a home spa.
The building on the site of the family home – originally approved for the use of the occupiers and the Captain Tom Foundation – had received planning permission in August 2021 and had been partly constructed when revised plans were submitted in February 2022, which included a spa pool, toilets and a kitchen “for private use”.
The revised plans for what was called the Captain Tom Building were turned down by Central Bedfordshire Council in November 2022.
A demolition order for the now-unauthorised building was issued, the council said.
The Planning Inspectorate confirmed that an appeal had been received and would be determined at an in-person hearing.
A hearing date and venue were still to be scheduled, but the inspectorate said it would “fully consider the evidence submitted at the appeal and take account of current planning legislation, policy and guidance”.
After an appeal decision was issued, there would be a period of six weeks during which it could be challenged in the High Court.
Neither the Captain Tom Foundation nor Ms Ingram-Moore have responded to the BBC’s request for comment on the planning application.
What happened to the £38m Capt Tom raised?
Nurses from Ward 4 at Royal Liverpool University Hospital sent a message of thanks to Capt Tom
The £38m gained from Capt Tom’s walks – managed and distributed by NHS Charities Together – was “not under investigation”, the charity confirmed.
NHS Charities Together said money it received for its Covid-19 Urgent Appeal had “funded thousands of projects”.
It said its appeal had raised more than £160m from thousands of supporters, which had been “distributed across the network of NHS charities to reach every NHS Trust and Health Board in the UK”.
“It has funded thousands of projects and provided vital mental health support for NHS staff, training for emergency volunteers, equipment and support for patients, and community partnership programmes to prevent ill health and reduce pressure on NHS services,” the charity said.
It has stressed that the Captain Tom Foundation is a “completely separate organisation”.
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