英で多額の寄付集めた１００歳退役軍人、死去　コロナ感染

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国で、新型コロナウイルスの流行の中、医療従事者らのために多額の寄付を集め国民的英雄となった、退役軍人のトム・ムーアさん（100）が2日、同ウイルスに感染し亡くなった。家族が明らかにした。（写真は新型コロナウイルスが流行する中で英国の医療従事者らのために巨額の寄付を集め、国民的英雄となったトム・ムーアさん）
　家族はムーアさんの公式ツイッターに、ムーアさんの写真と共に「トム・ムーア卿・大尉　１９２０-２０２１」と投稿した。ムーアさんの娘２人は、ムーアさんの「最期をみとるまでの数時間を共に過ごすことができ、とてもありがたく思う」と表明。ムーアさんと「（自分たちの）子どもの頃や素晴らしい母のことを思い出し、何時間も話した。私たちは笑いと涙を共有した」とし、「父の人生の最後の１年はこの上なく素晴らしいものだった。父は若返り、夢でしかなかったことを経験できた」と振り返った。
　ムーアさんは、自宅の庭を歩行器を使って歩き、国民保健サービス（ＮＨＳ）のために多額の寄付金を集めた他、医療従事者への応援歌として「Ｙｏｕ’ｌｌ　Ｎｅｖｅｒ　Ｗａｌｋ　Ａｌｏｎｅ」をカバーし、国内の音楽シングルチャートで史上最高齢の１位を獲得した。
　ムーアさんは昨年７月、エリザベス女王から正式にナイトの爵位を授与された。エリザベス女王はムーアさんの家族に個人として哀悼の意を伝えた。ボリス・ジョンソン首相は同日出した声明で、コロナ禍で寄付を集めたムーアさんが世界の希望の象徴になったと述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/03-14:44）

Tributes flooded in from across the UK on Tuesday following the death of Captain Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old military veteran who won British hearts with his fundraising during the pandemic.
Moore, who raised nearly ??33 million ($45 million, 37 million euros) for health service charities, died in hospital in southern England on Tuesday morning after testing positive for coronavirus last week.
His daughters, Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira, said the last year of his life, when he shot to international fame for his selfless efforts, had been nothing short of remarkable.
He was rejuvenated and experienced things he'd only ever dreamed of, they said in a statement, noting they had spent the last hours of his life reminiscing together.
We shared laughter and tears together.
Queen Elizabeth II, who awarded him a knighthood last year, sent a private message to his family.
Her Majesty very much enjoyed meeting Captain Sir Tom and his family at Windsor last year. Her thoughts and those of the Royal Family are with them, it added.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Moore not just a national inspiration but a beacon of hope for the world as well as a hero in the truest sense of the word.
In the dark days of the Second World War he fought for freedom and in the face of this country's deepest post-war crisis he united us all, he cheered us all up, and he embodied the triumph of the human spirit, he said.
- 'Soldier to the end' -
Moore was admitted to hospital on Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19 last month.
He had not been vaccinated because he had been receiving treatment for pneumonia, his family said.
Moore, born in northern England in 1920, raised the record-breaking sum for NHS charities last year by walking lengths of his garden, and then became the oldest man to top the UK music charts with a cover of You'll Never Walk Alone.
He had initially set out to raise ??1,000 in gratitude for the treatment he had received for skin cancer and a broken hip, but ended up attracting donations from 1.5 million supporters.
His efforts helped galvanise Britons as the country grappled with the early days of the pandemic, and were credited with giving others hope and help at a time of need and uncertainty.
The British Army paid its own tribute to Moore, who served in Asia during World War II, calling him an exceptional man and soldier to the end.
Moore's 100th birthday on April 30 was marked by a Royal Air Force flypast, which was also beamed live across the nation. Some 140,000 people sent him cards.
He rounded off a remarkable 2020 with a trip to Barbados with his family, and his fundraising haul was marked during the new year drone display in London, as his figure in lights appeared over the O2 Arena.
Whilst he'd been in so many hearts for just a short time, he was an incredible father and grandfather, and he will stay alive in our hearts forever, his daughters said in their statement.