Captain Sir Tom Moore would love legacy forest, says his daughter

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has said her father would have been “chuckling” after plans were unveiled to plant trees around the world in his honour.

His daughter, Lucy Teixeira, 52, said she hopes the Trees for Tom initiative will result in a wood in his home county of Yorkshire and the reforestation of part of India where he served during the Second World War.

“I think he would be so pleased,” she told the PA news agency.

“He would be chuckling and he would just think that is wonderful. He loved India and he is a true Yorkshireman.

“The thought of having a wood in his honour in his beloved Yorkshire would be fantastic.

“He wasn’t somebody who would go and buy loads of things, he was a mend it kind of guy.

“Thinking about our personal environmental impact on the Earth, he was that person that didn’t go and buy anything that was made of plastic.

“He would give us presents that were useful, so I’ve got tools, my sister does too. That is part of that generation where they would make do and mend.”

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, raising more than £32 million for the NHS.

He died at Bedford Hospital on February 2 after testing positive for Covid-19, with his funeral due to take place this weekend.

Sir Tom’s family selected two environmental charities to grow his “legacy forest” on their behalf – the Woodland Trust in the UK, and TreeSisters internationally.

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, and has planted more than 50 million trees since 1972.

TreeSisters, meanwhile, helps fund the planting of millions of trees in locations such as India, Brazil and Cameroon.

“It’s a great privilege to be asked to grow a forest for Captain Sir Tom Moore,” said Clare Dubois, founder of TreeSisters.

“We do so with hearts full of gratitude that the world’s outpouring of love for him can turn into trees and a global forest that, in turn, serves all of life on Earth.”