A World War II-era plane flew Saturday over the funeral service of Captain Tom Moore, in honour of the veteran who single-handedly raised millions of pounds for Britain's health workers by walking laps in his backyard.
Moore also received a firing salute from 14 soldiers of the Yorkshire Regiment.
Soldiers performed ceremonial duties at the service for the 100-year-old, whose charity walk inspired the nation and raised almost £33 million ($60m). Captain Tom, as he became known, died February 2 in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
His Union Flag-draped coffin was carried by soldiers from the regiment into the crematorium in Bedford, eastern England, past empty pews due to coronavirus restrictions. The soldiers then marched out and left his close family for the service, to the sound of Moore singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" in a charity single he recorded with Michael Ball.
In line with current coronavirus restrictions, the funeral was attended by his immediate family — two daughters, Lucy Teixeira and Hannah Ingram-Moore, four grandchildren and his sons-in-laws.
"Daddy, I am so proud of you," Teixeira said, "What you achieved your whole life and especially in the last year. You may be gone but your message and your spirit lives on."
Teixeira said her father would be watching them at the funeral and chuckling "saying 'don't be too sad as something has to get you in the end.'"
Speaking of her grief, Ingram-Moore said "we have lost a huge part of our family" and "we feel your loss with a deafening silence."
But she added "the power of the love you left allows us to stay strong."
Alfie Boe's performance of I Vow To Thee My Country, Dame Vera Lynn's The White Cliffs Of Dover and a version of the song Smile, recorded by singer Michael Buble, were played at the moving ceremony.
The family urged well-wishers to stay at home as the country remains in lockdown but some locals did line the streets to pay their respects.
Once Covid-19 restrictions permit, the family will intern Moore's ashes in Yorkshire, where he will rest with his parents and grandparents in the Moore family plot.
Moore, who served in India, Burma and Sumatra during WWII, set out to raise a modest £1,000 ($1800) for Britain's National Health Service (NHS) by walking 100 laps of his backyard by his 100th birthday.
But his quest went viral, catching the imagination of millions stuck at home during the UK's first wave of the pandemic.
People from 163 countries around the world donated to Captain Tom Moore's fundraiser, the celebrant conducting the funeral said.
The celebrant added that they were investing "in the values that he stood for."
His positive attitude — "Please always remember, tomorrow will be a good day" became his trademark phrase — inspired the nation at a time of crisis, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him as a "hero in the truest sense of the word″.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July in a socially distanced ceremony at Windsor Castle, west of London.
– Reported with Associated Press and CNN.
