Captain Tom has hinted that skydiving could be his next challenge and says his late wife Pamela would be ‘most pleased’ with him being made a colonel.
The Second World War veteran, who raised £32million for the NHS during the pandemic, was promoted to colonel by the Queen in time for his 100th birthday.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Captain Tom said he was inspired to write a children’s picture book after receiving so many letters.
The beloved national hero, who saw action in Burma during the world war, also revealed that his favourite drink was a gin and tonic, and cheekily added that if he could have dinner with anyone famous, ‘it would be you, Piers’.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, Captain Tom (with his daughter Hannah Ingram) said he was inspired to write a children’s picture book after receiving so many letters
Asked if he has been bored since his birthday last month, Captain Tom said: ‘I certainly haven’t got a minute to be bored – there’s so many things happening and so many kind people saying things, I haven’t been bored.’
What’s the beloved 100-year-old’s next goal?
‘It’s hard to say,’ he said, ‘skydiving I certainly wouldn’t mind doing that, it looks an amazing thing, I don’t know if I’d be able to but the idea seems alright’.
When asked what would have made his wife Pamela smile the most, he revealed: ‘I think she would have been most pleased with the fact I was made a colonel.
‘She would have thought that was very important and to be the wife of the colonel, she would have been very proud of that’.
Captain Tom has hinted that skydiving could be his next challenge and says his late wife Pamela would be ‘most pleased’ with him being made a colonel
Captain Tom, the Second World War veteran who raised £32million for the NHS during the pandemic, was promoted to colonel by the Queen in time for his 100th birthday
On Tuesday, Captain Tom was honoured with the ancient Freedom of the City of London, a tradition thought to date back to 1237.
Captain Tom, who served with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, was told that previous freemen of the City of London include the Duke of Wellington.
Others honoured with the status include Edward Jenner, the man who discovered the vaccination against smallpox, Florence Nightingale and Winston Churchill.
The NHS fundraiser will be publishing two books later this year – an autobiography called Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day and a children’s picture book which will support the newly-launched Captain Tom Foundation.
He said of the children’s picture book: ‘I think I’d like to share I’ve always been an optimistic person and looked on the bright side. That’s what I’d like to share – look on the bright side and things will get better always’.
Asked if he has been bored since his birthday last month, Captain Tom (with his daughter Hannah Ingram) said: ‘I certainly haven’t got a minute to be bored’
Captain Tom’s autobiography, to be published on September 17, will tell of his time on the battlefields of Burma in the Second World War (pictured, the veteran as a young man)
His autobiography, to be published on September 17, will tell of his time on the battlefields of Burma in the Second World War.
It will also tell how he raced motorbikes competitively, how he took off for the Himalayas and Everest in his nineties because he had never been before, and his fundraising efforts for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis.
Captain Tom said: ‘I am so looking forward to sharing my autobiography with you which will help launch my new foundation… I’d better get writing!’
His children’s picture book, to be published on October 1 by Puffin, an imprint of Penguin Random House Children’s, will follow key moments from his life.
Rowland White, publishing director at Michael Joseph, which is publishing Captain Tom’s autobiography, said the book will ‘ensure that his extraordinary achievement becomes a lasting and powerful force for good’.
Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children’s, said the picture book will illustrate how Captain Tom ‘show(ed) the world that we are stronger, and can achieve more, when we work together’.
‘It is a message that we know will speak to families everywhere and will be at the heart of Captain Tom’s wonderful children’s book,’ she said.