Captain Tom Moore

Wellingtonians everywhere will no doubt have been gripped by the remarkable story of Captain Tom Moore, the WW2 veteran who has raised more than £25 million for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden just ahead of his 100^th birthday. Captain Tom shares a special link with us as he served with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.

In 1853 Queen Victoria ordered that the 33^rd Regiment of Foot should be renamed The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, thus making it, like Wellington College, a living memorial to the Great Duke. Links between the two institutions have been fostered ever since. At least two of ‘the Duke’s’  Regimental Colonels have been Old Wellingtonians, and our College CCF now wears the cap badge of the regiment.

In 1940, Tom Moore enlisted in the 8^th Battalion of the Regiment, which was local to his home in Keighley, West Yorkshire. During the Second World War he served in India and Burma, and afterwards became an instructor at The Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset. After leaving the Army he retained links with his regiment, organising its annual reunion for 64 years.

In 2006, The Duke of Wellington’s amalgamated with others to form The Yorkshire Regiment. Nine soldiers from The Yorkshire Regiment surprised Captain Tom by forming a guard of honour as he completed his 100^th lap on 16^th April. Brigadier Andrew Jackson, Colonel of the Yorkshire Regiment, described Moore as ‘an absolute legend [from] an exceptional generation that are still an inspiration for our Yorkshire soldiers today.’ Captain Tom keeps on walking and is now aiming for his second hundred laps.

If you would like to donate to this cause you can do so here: Just Giving