I find myself a little misty-eyed as I write this, having just watched the Livestream of the funeral service for Captain Sir Tom Moore. It was sad to see only 10 people in the Bedford crematorium as I'm sure many thousands would have gathered in a cathedral to honour a man who has captured the nation's heart during this pandemic. There were around 22,000 devices watching the Facebook Live stream with me, and probably many more on other media.
Coincidentally I have also just finished reading his autobiography 'Tomorrow will be a Good Day' and feel like I knew the man very well. I was so impressed with his high sense of duty, decency, determination, (I am running out of 'd's!) combined with unrelenting politeness, perseverance in trial and positivity. I love the fact that at 90 years old he travelled on his own to Kathmandu in Nepal and hired a small plane to fly around the summit of Everest! Two years later he was back in India again, this time in the company of his daughters, revisiting his wartime haunts. Famous for his £38.9 million fundraising for the NHS during 2020, this great man seemed indestructible - but he never claimed it so, acknowledging the privilege he had been given in living so long.
Elsewhere in the book Captain Sir Tom spoke endearingly of his quiet Christian faith, perhaps in keeping with that of the awesome lady of his own generation, Queen Elizabeth, who knighted him at Windsor last year.
When speaking of the Covid virus pandemic he said: 'Faced with a common enemy, we were all in this together - comrades in arms - only now the battle was against a virus. And just like the war, I knew that we would win. We always do in this country. It often takes time, but we win. That's what we do'. The battle against Covid is a global one, and we can forgive the old warrior boasting of his own land, but the sentiment and positive example is stirring.
What I also find heartening about the adulation and attention being given to this unassuming and very normal little man, is the amount of respect being paid to the fading generation of which he was part. If there is any silver lining to the dark storm-cloud of the pandemic, it may be that so many of us have sacrificed and worked together to save the lives of as many senior citizens as we can. In a time when older folk were at best marginalised and ignored, and at worst maligned, mocked and abused, by a world obsessed with youth and looks, it is gratifying that millions have paused to honour the passing of a generation that suffered greatly, who accepted duty and sacrifice with equanimity and yet hope, and who laid down foundations of Christian behaviour from which we would do well to learn.
Farewell, Sir Tom. May God bless and comfort your dear family.
