To the rest of the world he was an icon – a symbol of hope and fortitude in the face of a deadly pandemic.
But to his youngest grandchild, 12-year-old Georgia Ingram-Moore, Captain Tom was The Magician… the man who could make sadness disappear and fill her life with wonder.
Georgia explained how she would sit on his knee as he told her stories and helped her with her drawings.
She would tuck in to the Sunday roasts he cooked for all the family and then she and her big brother Benjie would slip into “Granddad’s Fixing Shed” and watch the retired engineer working minor miracles.
On Saturday Georgia paid her own touching tribute to Captain Tom in a poem called The Magician, which she had helped to write.
And as she recalled her many happy memories she shared the most important piece of advice he had ever given her: “The key to life is to keep bad thoughts away.”
Georgia’s poem was one of many moving moments in the funeral service at Bedford Crematorium.
And while the 100 year old war veteran was laid to rest with full military honours, it was his family’s heartfelt tributes that would have touched him most.
Following the death of his wife Pamela in 2006, Captain Tom went to live with his youngest daughter Hannah, husband Colin and their son Benjie.
When Georgia was born they became “a family of five” with Captain Tom as their “solid foundation”.
Hannah said they then began “the most amazing, multi-generational life journey” but could never have predicted how the last year of his life would change so many others.
His “little gesture” - trying to raise £100 for the NHS by walking 100 laps of the garden - would go on to raise £38.9million.
“We are so proud of the way you handled everything that happened,” she said.
“We had been so close as a family before this but we were thrust even closer together as the world became enthralled by your spirit of hope, positivity and resilience.
“They too saw your belief in kindness and the fundamental goodness of the human spirit.”
Then, fighting back tears she revealed how she feels the “deep silence of his loss” at home and “the soft shuffle and scrape of your frame crossing the room.”
Her son, Benjie, 17, talked about how Captain Tom inspired him.
“There is a part of you in everything I do,” he said. “If there is a lesson I have learned from living with you the last 13 years, it’s the power of positivity and kindness.
“I truly do not believe I would be the person I am today without your sound guidance.
“Our chats mid-afternoon that were only supposed to last a few minutes quickly turned into hour-long conversations, quickly delving into so many thought-provoking avenues.
“These are memories I will never forget and ones I am incredibly grateful to have.
“I can’t imagine how many pieces of my sports equipment would have stayed broken without your ever-trusted super glue.
“I suppose the tables turned in the later years when so often it was Georgia or me fixing something on your phone.”
He went one “Growing up with you every day, the smell of porridge as I came downstairs was almost a sign to know everything was okay.”
And he said watching Captain Tom sneaking the leftovers to the dogs “filled the morning with more than a bit of joy”.
Benjie’s cousin, Tom Teixeira, read “Oh the Wild, Wild Moors” about the Yorkshire landscape that formed the young Captain Tom.
And another poem, “A Happy Man” read by the celebrant Lucy Silous contained the lines”Children that I leave behind, And their children, all were kind; Near to them and to my wife; I was happy all my life.”
Captain Tom’s eldest daughter also fought back tears as she remembered his wisdom and kindness.
She said: “Daddy, you always told us ‘best foot forward’ and true to your word that’s what you did last year, raising a fortune for the NHS and walking your way into the nation’s hearts.”
She went on: “We often talked about milestones in your life and we laughed about the possibility of you reaching 100 years – you said ‘it’s just a number and I don’t feel any different’.
“Right to the end you ignored the number and kept on going, urging us ALL to keep on going with your mantra ‘tomorrow will be a good day’.
“You have always influenced me with your strength, your energy, your drive, to get out of bed with a spring in your step and a purpose in mind
“I know you will be watching us, chuckling, and saying ‘Don’t be too sad, something has to get you in the end.’”
“But Daddy, I am so proud of you, what you achieved your whole life and especially in the last year.
“You may be gone but your message and your spirit lives on.”
At the end of the service the celebrant revealed that Captain Tom had shown that same spirit right up until his death.
Even when he was in hospital he told his nurses he “still had a lot more fund-raising in him and would be back as soon as he was better.”
And he was “so, so proud” of the Foundation set up in his memory to “inspire hope where it is needed most.”
Speaking ahead of the service Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “In national emergencies ordinary people do extraordinary things and inspire us all to pull together to overcome adversity.
“Few will have heard of Sir Tom before this crisis but his contribution and example now lives on in us all.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: “Sir Captain Tom Moore was an inspiration and we will never forget his efforts throughout the pandemic.
“He showed the best of Britain.
“RIP Captain Tom.”
Captain Tom, the icon of fortitude will continue to inspire us long after this deadly pandemic is over.
Because he will live on in the hearts and minds of a grateful nation.
His granddaughter Georgia summed it up perfectly in her poem, The Magician:
“His final act was really smart. He left but he’s still here”.
