Daughter of Captain Tom 'admits keeping money from books'

Claims her father wanted them to get book profits despite the prologue of one of them saying the money would go to charity. Interview being broadcast this evening, on Talk TV with Piers Morgan.

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It was a substantial amount, too:

In an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, which is scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday, she said her father wanted his family to keep the profits in Club Nook Ltd, a firm separate from the Captain Tom Foundation charity.

The family told Morgan there was no suggestion that anyone buying the books, including autobiography Tomorrow Will be a Good Day, thought they were donating to charity but the prologue of Sir Tomā€™s book says it is a ā€œchance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name.ā€

Far be it from me to be accusatory but the other money-grabbing activities of Ingram-Moore seem to indicate that she saw her fatherā€™s charity as a way to get her hands on a golden egg ā€¦ :angry:

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And Morgan will be encouraging her taking of money for her gain, and sneering while promoting her.:face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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This whole episode smelled dodgy from the start. A slightly too saccharine story of fortitude from an old ex-soldier. A great cause, but not a cause good enough to give nurses a decent pay rise. The red-tops jumping all over it. It is not a surprise to me that his daughter was siphoning off loads of money. Straight out of Trumpā€™s play book.

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Walk for yourself not for charity, less controversy.

Itā€™s all well dodgy and grubby, isnā€™t it?

Poor old chap, itā€™s a shame the memory is spoiled

Is there anything nowadays that doesnā€™t get corrupted and shoddy? :frowning:

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Was always going to happen.

I donā€™t agree with Hannahā€™s assertion that there was no suggestion to anyone buying the books that the profits were going to charity.

When Captain Tom writes this in the prologue of his autobiography
: ā€œAstonishingly at my age, with the offer to write this memoir I have also been given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name.ā€

Then looking online at the book published in his name, written for children
ā€œOne hundred Stepsā€, it is described by the Seller as
ā€œā€¦ This is an inspirational picture book, published in support of the creation of the Captain Tom Foundation, which tells the incredible story of the man who walked 100 laps of his garden and captured the heart of a nation.ā€

I think both Captain Tomā€™s own words and the seller / publisher description of the childrenā€™s book give the impression that the charity Captain Tom was famous for would benefit from the book sales.

If Captain Tom had not been catapulted to fame by the National media for his fund-raising activity, I doubt he would ever have written or sold any books, so it seems only fair and right that the profits from his books should go to the Charitable Cause he became famous for.

I canā€™t believe his family think they ā€œdeserveā€ to keep these profits for themselves.

I must admit, I never donated anything to Captain Tomā€™s Charity nor did I buy any of his books.
He seemed a kind gentleman with good intentions and I admired his determination but all the media hype surrounding him was a bit OTT, in my opinion.
Iā€™m always dubious about charities which are set-up in an ad-hoc fashion, as a result of these JustGiving Appeals - I never donate to them unless I know the person behind it really, really well and trust them.

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I still wonder how on earth it all came about that their father was going to walk around his garden , who told who ? Who elated it to the newspapers and who informed the TV. How did this old man walking become so huge . If I had decided to walk around my garden no one would have thought anymore about it, so money must have been spent on a huge advertising campaign .

How did it begin and why . How did it get so big .

I didnā€™t donate , Iā€™m cagey about charityā€™s anyway having once worked for one.

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It began with Captain Tom raising a Just Giving page - I expect it was his daughter who sorted it out.
I think the initial fundraising target was only about a Ā£1,000 or Ā£1,500.
Captain Tomā€™s daughter, Hannah, was already in business, running a business management consultancy and she had got to know a recently graduated student who worked in PR called Daisy Craydon.
Hannah asked Daisy if she would write a press release and distribute it to the media outlets to publicise Captain Tomā€™s Charity Fundraiser and deal with any subsequent media enquiries about it.

Thatā€™s how it started.

I donā€™t know which media outlet first took interest in the press release and reported on it but I imagine a report of a 99 year old British War veteran determined to raise funds for the NHS by walking a 100 laps of his garden on his mobility frame before he reached his 100th birthday probably sounded like an unusual human interest story, so Iā€™m not surprised that the media picked up the story.
I remember the main breakfast news programmes picked up on it and really helped to push the fundraising campaign with almost daily reports on the amount being raised. I think the main news channels must have been a big factor in making Captain Tomā€™s fundraising a nationally known story.
The Covid pandemic and lockdown made it ā€œperfect timingā€ for this charitable endeavour and human interest story to ā€œgo viralā€

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Itā€™s such a shame as itā€™s tarnished the memory of Cpt Tom and his altruistic effort .

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Nothing is sacred.

The BBC have picked up on the ā€œbeginningā€:

Avarice brings out the worst in people, such a shame.

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