ITV will air a Captain Tom Moore special on VE Day
The British Army veteran, who became a national treasure for his fundraising efforts for the NHS, will regale viewers with his memories serving in Burma during WW2
British Army veteran Tom Moore captured the hearts of the nation last week when he raised more than £28 million for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden at the age of 99 - and now ITV has commissioned a documentary about his role in World War II to be shown on VE Day (8th May).
Moore will regale viewers with the story of his service in Burma during the conflict in a half-hour programme titled Captain Tom's War, set to be broadcast on VE Day - a week after he turns 100 years old.
He will share his own memories of the brutal campaign, which saw a million Allied troops from 40 nations attempted to repel the invading forces of Imperial Japan from 1941-1944.
According to ITV, Moore will honour, "the soldiers who fought in what has since become known, with so much focus on the European battlefront and on VE Day, as 'The Forgotten War.'"
The Yorkshireman hopes to draw more attention to the campaign in what is now known as Myanmar, while the programme will also include contributions from his daughters Lucy and Hannah.
ITV's controller of current affairs Tom Giles, who commissioned the programme, said, "Captain Tom’s War will shed light on a campaign which comparatively goes unmentioned but in which our troops suffered unthinkable hardship and tens of thousands of British soldiers fought and died.
"Hearing this from Captain Tom Moore, who fought in Burma, means we will find out a lot more about the man who has done so much to raise our spirits at this time and the experience he and many others faced during World War Two on an occasion when we rightly come together to thank them for their sacrifice."
This week Captain Moore was honoured with a Pride of Britain Award for his fundraising efforts, with Carol Vorderman revealing the news to him on Good Morning Britain.
Accepting the award, he said, "That is very amazing, it is difficult to me to believe things like that – it is a very important award I can’t be more proud to be in a position to receive it from you.
"I thank all the people who nominated me for this award, I am very, very humbled to be receiving such a magnificent award."
Captain Tom's War will air on ITV on VE day. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV Guide.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
