Captain Tom's daughter "hopes people felt part of funeral"
The war veteran, from Yorkshire, would have turned 101 years old today (30 April 2021).
The daughter of Captain Sir Tom Moore has said his family hopes people felt included in his funeral.
The war veteran and fundraiser, from Yorkshire, passed away in February, aged 100.
Speaking ahead of what would have been his 101st birthday, today (30 April), Hannah Ingram-Moore has spoken of the challenges his family faced as a result of being in the public eye.
"We didn't know he wasn't coming out."
Hannah told us: "It was at the point when he was going into hospital that I phoned my sister and said, 'I think we need to give people a clue that he's not well.' At this point, we didn't know he wasn't coming out.
"My sister has been 70 miles away and hasn't lived in this bubble because of covid, and hasn't been used to the same media exposure, so it was hard for rest of the family and other family members to come to terms with the fact it was going to be very public."
"We all agreed that, providing it was done in a really respectful way, we really wanted everyone to feel like they could take part in it, and also from a covid perspective, if we shared it it would mean that people didn't feel like they had to come.
"It was hard, but I think it gave everyone an opportunity to feel like they were sitting in the back row of those pews. That's what we wanted people to feel. We can only hope we did it well and we hope that people looked on and genuinely felt part of it."
Captain Sir Tom's legacy in North Yorkshire
Captain Tom raised nearly £33 million for NHS Charities Together last year, by walking a hundred laps of his garden, in time for his hundredth birthday.
That total was split between charities across England, including the York Teaching Hospitals Charity.
Fundraising manager Lucy Clegg said: "People are now so much more aware of how they can support their hospital, whether that is through fundraising, volunteering or donating items that we can then use in the hospital to make things better for patients.
"We had a huge amount of support locally before Captain Tom, but definitely he has opened up people's eyes to actually what is available for people to help and just give a little bit back."
The charity provides extra support to patients and staff at both York and Scarborough hospitals.
Recently, projects have included new accommodation for junior doctors at both sites, and infographics in the Intensive Care units, helping patients and their families to understand what processes take place in the departments.
The #CaptainTom100 challenge
This weekend, marking Captain Tom's 101st birthday, people are being invited to take on a fundraising challenge of their own.
It can be anything based around the number 100, raising money for any charity.
Hannah Ingram-Moore, who is recreating Captain Tom's original challenge, walking a hundred laps of the garden, explains: "When he was alive, we were still talking about what we'd do for his 101st birthday. He was a very inclusive person, he was a huge champion of women and girls and inclusivity and equality. We wanted to do something that was accessible to all.
"Raise some money for charity. For the Captain Tom Foundation or any other charity, this is about inclusivity - open to all.
"And have some fun! After all, he always had a twinkle in his eye, and he wanted this to be fun."
Click here to get involved in the #CaptainTom100 challenge with a fundraising challenge.