Postmaster in Bedford receives special award for helping mark Captain Tom's birthday

A special Post Office recognition award has been presented to Marston Moretaine postmaster Bill Chandi for his role in helping to mark Captain Tom's 100th birthday.

More than 200,000 cards, letters and gifts have been sent to to the Post Office - and mail still continues to arrive.

Post Office chief executive Nick Read said: “Bill has been a great ambassador for the Post Office and I want to thank him for his amazing involvement in marking Captain Tom’s 100th

birthday.

"Bill is a pillar of the community and he has certainly gone the extra mile by providing somewhere for people to send 100th birthday cards, transporting gifts to Captain

Tom’s home and processing lots of donations inside the mail.”

Bill was also presented with two giant collages of photos of the Post Office’s involvement with Captain Tom’s birthday celebrations and fundraising. These will be displayed in the window of the branch in Bedford Road.

Cards were sent from all across the UK and around the world and were sorted and displayed at Bedford School where Captain Tom’s grandson Benjie Ingram-Moore attends.

Bill Chandi said: “I am delighted to have played a part in this amazing story by accepting 100th birthday cards and donations for this community’s most famous resident, who really lifted our spirits during this pandemic.”

Captain Tom set himself a challenge to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday for NHS staff, raising a staggering £33million.