Transdev subsidiary the Keighley Bus Company names bus in honour of NHS (National Health Service) fundraiser’s amazing achievement. His courage has captured the hearts of the whole United Kingdom and people around the world and now his name will be appearing all over his hometown in Yorkshire!
Captain Tom Moore has raised an astonishing £26 million for NHS Charities Together by walking over a hundred lengths of his back garden in Bedfordshire – and his charity single version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” performed as a duet with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir has shot straight to the top of the iTunes download chart.
Captain Tom was born and raised in Keighley, West Yorkshire, and attended Keighley Grammar School before completing a civil engineering apprenticeship ahead of his military service in India and Burma in World War Two.
And now, the modest 99-year-old war veteran’s proud Yorkshire roots are to be celebrated in his hometown by The Keighley Bus Company, which is naming a bus in his honour and decorating it with the words: “A Big Thank You To Captain Tom – A Keighley Legend”.
All of our team in Keighley share our pride in serving the town where this inspirational man was raised, and he absolutely deserves all our thanks for everything he’s done – and continues to do – for our National Health Service. The rear of our special bus also features a very special illustration of Captain Tom completing his fundraising walk, created as an affectionate salute to this exceptional Yorkshireman by Yorkshire Post cartoonist Graeme Bandeira. Captain Tom’s bus will be seen in his home county of Yorkshire on our local bus routes throughout the Keighley area, as we continue to provide vital transport links for key workers and those needing to access essential services throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s our way of saying thank you to this remarkable man for raising so much money for our NHS, and just as importantly, lifting the spirits of our nation.
Alex Hornby, CEO of Transdev Blazefield
The bus made its first appearance on Tuesday, April 21st at Harrogate’s new NHS Nightingale Hospital, created within the town’s Convention Center in just two weeks to provide 500 additional critical care beds for patients across Yorkshire and Humberside. Captain Tom will appear via a live video link from his home to be guest of honour at the opening ceremony.
The Keighley Bus Company’s CEO Alex Hornby said: “Like everyone in the country we are truly amazed by Captain Tom’s remarkable fundraising efforts for NHS charities, and as he is a proud Yorkshireman raised in Keighley, we feel it’s entirely appropriate for us to express our thanks to him by naming our bus in his hometown.
Full details of all bus services operated by The Keighley Bus Company, including special timetables currently in place during the Coronavirus outbreak, are available online .