Captain Sir Tom Moore’s 100th birthday cards go on display at museum

One hundred of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s 100th birthday cards are to go on display at a museum.

The Second World War veteran and NHS fundraising hero has given the cards to IWM Duxford in Cambridgeshire and has recorded a video message to be screened alongside them.

In the video Captain Tom, who is honorary patron of the IWM, expresses his appreciation for the well wishes he received.

The museum is also home to a permanent exhibition about the Burma campaign, in which Captain Tom served.

The exhibition, called The Forgotten War, is in the museum’s Land Warfare Hall and shows what it was like to fight in the jungles of the Far East, menaced by severe weather and the constant threat of disease.

Captain Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with IWM Duxford on this display and would like to once again thank all those who took the time to write all the wonderful cards and messages we received.

“As a family, we felt that IWM Duxford’s Land Warfare Hall was the perfect location for this display as visitors will also be able to find out more about what military personnel, like my father, endured during the Burma campaign which is an often overlooked aspect of the Second World War.”

IWM curator Sean Rehling said: “When talking about the Second World War, the Burma campaign is an aspect which barely features in our public consciousness.

“The unforgiving terrain and oppressive heat meant that it was a particularly brutal theatre of war where disease and malnutrition were rife.

“We hope that, through their visit to the new Captain Tom display, visitors will go on to gain a deeper appreciation for the contribution made by the British Forces in the Far East, made up of the British Indian Army, Gurkhas and other Commonwealth troops.”

The display of birthday cards will be unveiled to the public on Saturday.