People who worked on Captain Tom Moore’s books said they believed there would be a ‘significant donation’ to charity from the profits.
The fundraiser’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, revealed in 2023 that her family kept around £800,000 from the books her late father wrote – Captain Tom’s Life Lessons, One Hundred Steps and Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day.
Ms Ingram-Moore, 53, claimed her father’s wish had been for his family to have the money, despite the British Army officer suggesting in his autobiography that the book would enable him to raise money for his foundation.
The prologue of his autobiography reads: ‘Astonishingly 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.’
Discussing his books, which were written before the fundraiser’s death aged 100, Ms Ingram-Moore said the money made went into Club Nook Ltd – a firm separate from the charity in his name.
Captain Tom’s daughter and her husband Colin, 67, have been disqualified from being charity trustees for ten and eight years respectively by the Charity Commission, it emerged earlier this month.
The watchdog said there had been ‘misconduct and/or mismanagement’ but did not say what was specifically involved.
A source, who was involved in Captain Tom’s books, said they thought some of the profits would be going to the foundation.
They told The Times: ‘Everyone that worked on the books […] was very much told that a significant donation would be made by the family into the foundation.
‘I don’t know if I thought it would be all, or a lot, but I thought there would be a significant donation.’
The source did reveal that the purpose of the books was not specifically to raise money for charity. They added that they were not aware of Captain Tom’s personal wishes in relation to the profits.
Captain Tom signed a deal with Penguin Random House in 2020, one month after his walk for charity during the pandemic lockdown which raised almost £39million for the NHS.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Captain Tom’s daughter and her husband were disqualified from being charity trustees amid an ongoing inquiry into the foundation set up in the war veteran’s name.
The couple ‘fundamentally disagree’ with a decision made by the Charity Commission, the family has revealed in a statement.
The pair had an option to appeal but made the ‘extremely difficult decision’ not to do so, saying the ‘profound emotional upheaval and financial burden’ made it ‘untenable’.
Captain Tom was knighted by the late Queen for walking 100 laps around the garden of the house during the Covid pandemic in 2020, raising £39million for NHS charities.
He died on February 2, 2021, at the age of 100, with Buckingham Palace announcing the Queen had sent the family a ‘private message of condolence’.