RIP Brave Captain Tom Moore ‘didn’t suffer before his death’

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has said he “didn’t suffer” in his final days, according to Michael Ball.

The singer recorded a charity single with Sir Tom that reached number one.

While presenting the BBC’s The One Show, Ball said he had spoken to Sir Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore following his death.

“Obviously (the family) are so sad and coming to terms with it, but she described the last few days and they spent the time with him in hospital,” Ball said.

He added that the Moore family “spent the time talking and reminiscing about his life and about this year and he was so proud and so content and he didn’t suffer”.

“What keeps them going, I think, is the outpouring of love and respect for everything that Tom achieved over the last year,” Ball said. “It has been extraordinary.”

The singer, who recorded a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone with Sir Tom, said he was “really lucky” to have known him.

He said when he initially spoke to Sir Tom about the song it was “never quite as sparky” as they were not talking face-to-face and the Army veteran was “a little hard of hearing”.

“When I got to spend that time with him at his home, that’s when the real Tom came alive because he was so on the ball and so quick,” he added.

“He was staggered by what had happened but he’s from that generation that they took it in their stride. He was thrilled by the way everything had gone and was so proud of it.

“He would say to me, ‘I couldn’t have imagined I’d be on the Royal Variety Show and have a number one hit and getting knighted by the Queen’ – his most proud moment of his life.

“There wasn’t a moment where he felt, ‘This isn’t right, I want to pull back from this’.

“He grasped every opportunity, he loved it and he knew he was doing the right thing.”

Ball said Sir Tom would “understand that we are sad and that we are feeling a loss” but would also want us to remember “what we did, how we all came together”.

He described Sir Tom’s death, which came after he tested positive for coronavirus, as “awful and ironic”.

Ball said Sir Tom “wanted to have the vaccine” and felt it was his “duty”.

“So if you are thinking about it, don’t, just have the vaccine – it is kind of your duty, that’s what Captain Tom felt, that’s what I feel, that’s what most of us feel and it is the right thing to do,” Ball said.

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Press Association