A memorial woodland dedicated to Captain Tom Moore in West Yorkshire today, renamed in honour of the NHS charity fundraiser.
The 17 acres of land will now be known as Captain Tom’s Memorial Wood, following a renaming ceremony that took place today.
Close to the army veteran’s childhood home outside Keighley, the wood – found on the banks of the North Beck river between the hamlets of Laycock and Goose Eye – comprises a mixture of ancient woodland and open ground.
As part of the memorialisation, the captain’s slogan “tomorrow will be a good day” will be engraved onto a seat overlooking a meadow, offering walkers a place for quiet reflection and contemplation.
A new tree-planting scheme due to take place here will see 3,000 new hedgerow trees and shrubs added over the coming months too, according to The Woodland Trust.
Elsewhere, small ‘pockets’ of trees will be planted across open meadows and fields – adding more greenery to the space whilst maintaining its sweeping countryside views.
The wood is home to a number of wildlife including sparrow hawks and great spotted woodpeckers. The addition of more trees will help preserve woodland habitats, whilst acting as a ‘buffer’ to protect the existing wood.
Captin Tom Moore stole the heart of the nation when he decided to walk 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 before reaching his 100th birthday.
His efforts went viral, raising nearly £33m for NHS charities. At the time, much publicity was given to the shortages of PPE equipment in the NHS and a general need to ventilators and other medical equipment.
The cenetenarian passed away from Covid-19 and pneumonia in hospital after contracting the disease following a holiday to Barbados.
A national treasure, he was knighted by the Queen in her first official engament post-lockdown in July 2020.
Feature image – Twitter (@captaintommoore)
