Sir Tom

I absolutely agree with you Merlotgran. I have often thought that some of the ladies who comment on here wouldn't know to be nice or look for the best in a situation if it got up and bit them

Hetty, he didn't just get the knighthood for walking up and down a paved area of his garden, he got it for inspiring people which must have helped many cope with Lockdown. He got it for raising millions for NHS charities and he got it for unwittingly becoming a national hero.

Any heart warming news is much needed during these uncertain times.

I'm with you Quizzer.

Quizzer I agree completely. Captain Tom is, I'm sure, a nice man who has done a lot of good - but he's being used as a smokescreen to divert attention from all the others who have died because of the appalling mismanagement of the crisis by Johnson and co...
Bread and circuses is the phrase that springs to mind

When the nation needed some uplifting; Capt. Tom's effort was greatly admired, but why a knighthood? Does he already have a OBE, CBE, or MBE ? If not, then he deserves one.

Remember Pauline Cafferkey the Scottish nurse and aid worker who contracted Ebola virus disease in 2014 while working in Sierra Leone as part of the medical aid effort during the West African Ebola virus epidemic.
For her humanitarian effort, did she get one?

Just saying

Hetty58.
For pities sake ,gardens do have paved areas.Doesn't mean to say it isn't a garden.

Such good news,well deserved.I watched him on GMB this morning.He was joking about what he would say to the Queen.But is there any chance of him meeting the Queen,I thought all her investitures have been cancelled,such a shame if he can't meet her.

Fantastic ! such a lovely man ….and so good to see him knighted ...I hope he will be able to travel to the Palace once everything is lifted...he would love that ….and I hope all the money is wisely used. God bless him. and everyone who has cared, raised money or worked during this ...stay safe

I raise my glass. To Sir Tom.

PR exercise it probably is but nevertheless Captain Tom has inspired and cheered us during this period. As lemsip said he had done much more in his lifetime than raise a colossal amount of money.
I'm sure health workers etc are not griping about this award.

I'm with those who think it's a PR exercise. The old soldier is a lovely man and deserves recognition for his wonderful fund-raising, but ABdeP Johnson drumming up a knighthood for him is modern-day bread and circuses. Had Mr Johnson's cronies not starved the NHS for 10 years, charity marathons by elderly soldiers would not be required. Will now go and hide behind the shed for the rest of the day.

He cheered us all up - well he did me.
He deserves it.

On TV they kept saying that he was doing 'laps' of his garden. No, he wasn't. In fact he was walking up a paved area - and back again. A good effort and well done, but hardly worthy of a knighthood.

At last someone who really deserves it! I agree with Ricky Gervais who mooted the recent comment regarding such titles. Give them to people who have actually done something for mankind.

Totally agree with quizzer. God knows why the queen agreed. Bring back the Duke of Edinburgh, doubt he would have stood for it.

Hurray!
It’s a bit of good news and not really political unless you see it that way. It has actually boosted a lot of similar fundraising activities, so a double bonus.

In a way it’s about as useful as going out to clap/sing/play instruments on a Thursday.
It achieves nothing in terms of raising pay, or saving lives, but makes you feel good and cheers some of the NHS staff and other key workers.

Please google Captain Tom and find that he done much more in his life than raise money for nhs. He may have got the knighthood for raising the money but that is just a small portion of his life story! He was in India and Burma during WW2 yes, just like many others but he has a story to tell!

It’s lovely he got knighted. For once a true Knight gets it ! Not a P Green.
But another thing I’ve been banging on about everywhere ( twitter etc) is I really really think there should be a special Queens medal or Gold 2020 medal for all those key people in NHS, supermarkets that got us through this terrifying ( maybe not so much now but was) pandemic ! One lady I know is an ICU nurse who risked her life, watched 20/30 people die nursing them up to the last minute so they didn’t die alone, doing day after day of 12 hour shifts. These people and those who worked in supermarkets, delivered our food , they all deserve our thanks and acknowledgement and recognition !! Not just oh back to normal and carry on.
Sorry didn’t mean to detract from Sir Tom.

If ever there was a deserved knighthood then he is the right person.

Not many veterans is WWll left now. An excellent example of an older person who looks for the best in things. His knighthood represents the gratitude we all feel for all veterans who went to fight so we would have freedom. During lock down it made us all realise how much we value our freedom. Congratulations Sir Tom, your family must be so proud of you.

Quizzer you're right, as actual personal achievement it was minor, but I think they're holding him up as a sort of example and it did lift a lot of people's spirits as well as making a shedload of money for the NHS. So it was all very on-message and I think that's why he's getting it.

Well done Sir Tom. Let’s hope that the same honour doesn’t go to overpaid, egotistical ‘celebs’ for ‘their work for charity’. Most can afford their charitable giving when there are others equally as charitable who do it quietly with no fuss.

Well done Sir Tom! X

Yes, he deserves a medal. More so than many folk who get them. He lifted my spirits.
At the same time, Quizzer and Co, I agree with your posts. It's a distraction from the harsh reality of Covid Britain. That Bill going through Parliament just now is a disgrace.

A true positive to come out of this horrible situation. I bet he never thought all of these wonderful things, a spitfire fly pass and a knighthood would happen on his 100th birthday, when all he was thinking of was others. Well deserved award for a change.