There is a 100-year old British veteran who is looking forward to being honored Friday by the Queen of England. Captain Sir Thomas Moore will receive a knighthood for his fundraising efforts during the coronavirus pandemic for the British National Health Service (NHS). Queen Elizabeth II will present the honor during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Moore’s story is just what we all need during this worldwide plague, whether we know it or not. If his story doesn’t bring a smile to your face or a silent “attaboy” to yourself, I don’t know what will. Captain Tom, as he is known, decided to raise money for the NHS, the taxpayer-funded national health care system. Moore decided to grab his walker and walk laps in his garden. His goal was to walk 100 laps before his 100th birthday on April 30. He finished ahead of time. His online campaign’s original goal was to raise $1,000 dollars. Captain Tom ended up raising over $37M. His effort was seen as inspirational. To top all of that off, he is the oldest artist to reach number one on the UK singles chart as his rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” landed in the top spot in time for his 100th birthday. He performed the song with singer Michael Ball and The NHS Voices Of Care Choir.

Lovely day for a walk, don't you think?
360 laps done and still going #walkwithtom #TomorrowWillBeAGoodDay pic.twitter.com/iFiwXYDUZl

— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore) May 31, 2020

He served in the infantry, then became an officer, and later worked as an instructor when he returned from war.

Sir Tom enlisted into the eighth battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (8 DWR), an infantry unit that was converted to operate Churchill tanks as part of the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC).
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In 1940 he was selected for officer training and rose to the rank of captain, later being posted to 9 DWR in India.

He served and fought in the Arakan in western Burma, since renamed Rakhine State, and went with his regiment to Sumatra after the Japanese surrender.

After the war he returned to the UK and worked as an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset.

Captain Tom is older than the Queen and the NHS, too. He frequently ends his tweets with a hashtag – Tomorrow Will Be a Good Day.

Happy 72nd Birthday @NHS
Thank you for all that you do for us 💙👏 #ThankYouTogether #NHSBirthday#TomorrowWillBeAGoodDay pic.twitter.com/gYGVmXe7jp

— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore) July 5, 2020

He was appointed an honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate to mark his 100th birthday, approved by the Queen. He also received a special flyover to commemorate his achievements

Just received a rather special birthday card from Her Majesty The Queen @RoyalFamily pic.twitter.com/jqIxpVFBRH

— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore) April 30, 2020

Boris Johnson recommended to the Queen that Captain Tom be knighted. Royal investitures have been put on hold during the pandemic, with the Queen quarantined in Windsor Castle. This will be her first official duty since her quarantine. Captain Tom’s family will travel with him for the ceremony but the general public is advised to not travel to Windsor Castle. There will not be the usual public viewpoint available to watch the investiture. The Queen will use the sword that belonged to her father, George VI, and will present him with the insignia of Knight Bachelor.

The Queen is in the gin making business now so she could offer a toast to Captain Tom if she wanted to do so.

The Royal Collection Trust has launched a small-batch London dry gin for gin lovers and royal family aficionados to enjoy.

The gin is available for purchase at any Royal Collection Trust shop and will also be served at all future official events at the palace.

The gin is derived from 12 botanicals and infused with citrus and herbal notes. Many of the botanicals highlighted in the gin have been picked from the Buckingham palace garden.

Lemon verbena, hawthorn berries, bay leaves and mulberry leaves are some of the specific botanicals picked directly from Buckingham Palace.

The bottle is made of clear and turquoise glass with a gold stopper and also features a coronet and a ring of flowers entwined in an elaborate gold decorative circle.

So, there you go. There will be a well-earned knighthood bestowed on Captain Tom and the Queen has her own gin now.

I’ll end with this little nugget – actor and owner of Aviation Gin, Ryan Reynolds pranked the Queen and trolled Sir Paul McCartney about her gin.

Reynolds, who is proud owner of Aviation Gin, used the occasion to poke fun at Her Majesty while simultaneously trolling Paul McCartney. On Tuesday, the Deadpool star shared a fake receipt for a bottle of the monarch’s gin, which he jokingly sent to McCartney. “Pre-ordered,” the 43-year-old captioned the photo of the fake order confirmation.

While at first glance the receipt looks pretty real, fans were quick to notice that several details of the order, which were clearly made up. For example, Reynolds listed the Beatles musician’s home address as “221b Baker Street, Downton Abbey Rd, 1D4 LYF.” As for his own address, he wrote, “1 Upmanship Dr., Notcoolington, WTF FML.” How clever.

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