Captain Tom Moore 'gave up on love' before meeting beloved wife Pamela aged 50

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Captain Sir Tom Moore is more than a national treasure - he became a symbol of hope throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The inspirational 100-year-old was knighted for his incredible efforts that saw him raise more than £32million for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden.

Captain Tom had originally hoped to raise £1,000 by walking 100 lengths of his 25 metre garden before his 100th birthday on April 30.

But as the money kept rolling in, and his target soon smashed, the World War Two veteran kepts on walking.

The father-of-two completed his 100th length as a guard of honour of soldiers from his former regiment lined his driveway.

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Captain Tom became a national hero with his fundraising efforts (Image: VICKIE FLORES/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

In a truly remarkable year, the brave pensioner was awarded a knighthood for his amazing achievement and even made his way into the Guinness Book of Records by becoming the oldest person to reach Number One.

Captain Tom, who received tens of thousands of cards when he celebrated his milestone birthday, was also given a special Pride of Britain award for all he had done.

He has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from the entire country - and now the national treasure will take part in Piers Morgan's: Life Stories to tell his incredible tale.

Captain Tom said: "At no time when we started off with this exercise did we anticipate we'd get anything near that sort of money.

"It just shows that people have such high regard for matters of our National Health Service and it's really amazing that people have paid so much money."

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Captain Tom shot to fame after he pledged to do 100 laps of his 25metre garden to raise money for the NHS

And his amazing achievement has been praised by politicians, celebrities and his millions of fans.

Captain Tom has first-hand experience of the NHS after he was treated for skin cancer several years ago.

He also heaped praised on the doctors and nurses who cared for him following his hip replacement after a fall in his kitchen.

Born in Keighley in West Yorkshire, Captain Tom attended the local grammar school before training as a civil engineer.

In the midst of World War Two he enlisted in the Army and served with the Duke of Wellington's regiment in India and Burma, being honoured with a raft of bravery medals.

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British Army Captain Tom Moore in uniform (Image: via REUTERS)

When he was posted to serve in India in October 1941, it took his Battalion six weeks by sea to arrive there.

During his time in south Asia Captain Moore was instructed to start a motorcycling course before the Battalion was moved on to Calcutta - a road journey which took three weeks in Monsoon season.

Back in the UK Captain Tom was sent on a course at The Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington.

After leaving the Forces Captain Tom, as all who know him call him, started work as a salesman and had all but given up on love.

But then, aged 50, he met his beloved wife Pamela and finally found his happy ending, getting married in 1968.

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Captain Tom Moore and his bride Pamela during their 1968 wedding

She was 35 and working as an office manager when Captain Tom first met her.

He said: "As it so happened, the office manager in Gravesend was a rather attractive young lady – she looked terrific to me, like a model – so I had to do various trips and, shall we say, the ­attraction with the office manager became stronger and I eventually married her."

The couple had two daughters, Lucy and Hannah.

He describes their marriage as "a happy time" and the devoted couple loved the simple things in life.

Captain Tom joked: "Pamela loved nothing more than a trip to Marks & Spencer. That was her dream day out, so we did that a lot."

Heartbreakingly, Pamela's health started to decline 20 years ago and her devoted husband cared for her for two years.

When her condition needed extra medical attention, Pamela was moved into a care home but Captain Tom was still her main carer.

He would visit her every, single day and he was the one who fed her her meals and would sit with her for hours on end until she passed away 14 years ago.

Captain Tom, who is still fiercely independent, now lives with his daughter, Hannah, along with his grandchildren, Georgia and Benjie, in the village of Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire.