Captain Sir Tom MooreCaptain Sir Tom Moore
Captain Sir Tom Moore

Captain Sir Tom Moore of Bedford inspired the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic

The fundraising hero raised millions of pounds for the NHS

Heroes came in all shapes and sizes during the first wave of the pandemic last year - but none captured the heart of the nation more than Bedford's very own Captain Sir Tom Moore.

As we all struggled with the very first lockdown, he pledged to walk 100 lengths of his 50 metre-long garden in Marston Moretaine before his 100th birthday in April and donate 100 per cent of the funds to the NHS.

He had been inspired by the treatment he received from the NHS after breaking his hip and for skin cancer.

Although a modest fundraising target of £1,000 was set, the war veteran raised a phenomenal £33million - and of course the rest is history.

We were lucky enough to tell his story first. But that's all we did - Captain Sir Tom did the rest.

A petition to get him knighted took off as meteorically as his fundraising efforts. And in a break with protocol, in July he was knighted by the Queen at Windsor Castle in her first official engagement in person since lockdown.

In February this year, Captain Sir Tom died from pneumonia at Bedford Hospital where he had also tested positive for Covid.

His funeral took place on February 27 at Bedford Crematorium after a procession from his village of Marston Moretaine.

Six member of the Yorkshire Regiment carried the war veteran's coffin, draped in the union jack. There was also a flypast by a vintage C-47 Dakota.

His daughters paid tribute to their father, with Lucy Teixeira hailing his mantra of "tomorrow will be a good day" and Hannah Ingram-Moore saying "you will be with me always."

Here, we take a look back at his legacy.