Colonel Tom Moore, a World War II veteran from the UK is about to become a knight honouring his incredible contribution to raise over 33 million pounds for NHS workers. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him as a national treasure appreciating how he served light and hope as the country battles with the COVID-19 crisis. His honour has been approved by Queen Elizabeth. Tom Moore raised the whooping amount by completing 100 laps in his garden on his centenary birthday last month.

Tom Moore pledged to walk 100 laps of his back garden before his 100th birthday on 30th April, with small hope of raising around 1,000 pounds. With service medals on his jackets and help of a walking frame, he walked 10 rounds each day. In a few days, he had already raised a million! His determination made way into a record-breaking fundraiser of more than £33 million. After being honoured a Colonel last month, Boris Johnson announced he would now become Colonel Sir Tom Moore. Johnson said, "Colonel Tom's fantastic fundraising broke records, inspired the whole country and provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus." UK's 100-year-old COVID-19 Fundraising War Veteran Dreams of Revisiting India.

Watch Video of Tom Moore Completing His 100th Lap:

Talking about this knighthood, Sir Tom was quoted in Daily Mail report that he is absolutely overwhelmed with the honour. He thanked the Queen, the Prime Minister and all of the British public who made it possible. He said, " I will remain at your service. This started as something small and I've been overwhelmed by the gratitude and love from the British public and beyond." How exactly will the knighthood be given during the lockdown situation is not yet revealed.

Tom Moore, trained as a civil engineer before enlisting in the army at the beginning of World War II. He later served in India and Indonesia. On his 100th birthday, his daughter had to cancel the birthday celebrations but he was honoured in different ways. He was made an honorary colonel. He was also made the member of the England cricket team. A special flypast was organised by the RAF and he received over 140,000 birthday cards from around the world. Moore's determination has also inspired several others to do whatever they can to help raise funds to help the NHS staffers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2020 09:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).