Captain Tom's memorial woodland unveiled in honour of heroic fundraiser

A swathe of ancient woodland will be renamed and planted with more trees in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore, the Woodland Trust has said.

The 17 acres of land at Holme House Wood, near the fundraiser's childhood home close to Keighley, West Yorkshire, will be renamed as Captain Tom's Memorial Wood.

Small pockets of individual trees will be planted across three meadows to keep key areas of open space and views across the site.

Sir Tom's motto "tomorrow will be a good day" will be engraved on a semi-circular seat near an existing drystone wall looking out over the meadow, the conservation charity said.

Second World War veteran Sir Tom captured the hearts of the nation with his fundraising efforts during the first coronavirus lockdown, when he walked 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden before his 100th birthday.

He raised £38.9 million for the NHS, including Gift Aid, with the money given to NHS Charities Together.

Sir Tom's family selected two environmental charities to grow a "legacy forest" on their behalf - the Woodland Trust in the UK, and TreeSisters internationally.

His daughter Lucy Teixeira said:

Site manager Alistair Nash from the Woodland Trust said:

"It's an honour to rename and extend this beautiful site in tribute to a great Yorkshireman.

"Sir Tom was concerned about what the future holds for his grandchildren and the negative impact we are having on our planet.

"We hope this wood will be a fitting memorial to Sir Tom and will inspire people from across the UK, to protect and cherish the natural environment whilst enjoying all the splendour this site has to offer."

The site is within the White Rose Forest, part of the Northern Forest scheme where the Woodland Trust and partners plan to plant more than 50 million trees across an area stretching from Liverpool to Hull.

Planting and other works at the site will begin in March 2022 and are hoped to be finished by autumn next year, the trust said.