Britain will come together tonight at 6pm to clap for NHS hero Captain Sir Tom Moore, it has been announced.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a Downing Street press conference before joining a national clap for the Second World War veteran who captured the heart of a nation.
He raised a total of £32.7 million, with donations from 1.5 million supporters, before his fundraising page was closed at midnight following his 100th birthday.
A minute’s silence was also held in the House of Commons today ahead of PMQs to honour Captain Tom and all those who have died during the pandemic.
NHS Charities Together
According to NHS Charities Together health service charities have used money raised in several ways so far, including assisting those experiencing bereavement due to Covid-19.
The organisation said it has helped patients, their families and carers at one of their most isolated and stressful moments, when they are very ill in hospital and separated from those they care for.
The organisation used the initial tranche of cash to meet urgent needs on the ground during the first wave of the pandemic and distributed further urgent funding towards the end of last year in response to the second wave.
NHS charities are also using the funds to support communities outside hospitals, and the recovery of staff and patients affected by the pandemic across the NHS.
“Heroic efforts”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sir Tom’s “heroic efforts have lifted the spirits of the entire nation”, the Duke of Cambridge praised him as a “one-man fundraising machine” and he even released a charity single.
His cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone, together with singer Michael Ball, reached number one in the charts, making him the oldest artist ever to have a UK number one single.
A flypast of a Spitfire and a Hurricane marked his 100th birthday, and he was made an honorary colonel.
Speaking about the flypast, Sir Tom said: “I’m one of the few people here who’ve seen Hurricanes and Spitfires flying past in anger. Fortunately today they’re all flying peacefully.”
Related: Captain Sir Tom Moore was a reminder that in a pandemic, all lives matter