Gifts donated by Captain Tom fans appear in marketing images for his family home
The keepsakes are shown in glossy promotional images.
Gifts from well-wishers honouring Captain Sir Tom Moore have been shown in glossy marketing images for the sale of his family home.
A statuette of the record-breaking fundraiser taking pride of place in the front hallway and a chair fashioned from a military uniform which was personally presented to his family are among the keepsakes shown.
Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, has put the Grade II-listed house on the market for £2.25 million almost three months after she was forced to demolish an unauthorised spa block in the grounds.
In the estate agent’s images, many personal touches can still be seen at the seven-bedroom property in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
The extended home was where Captain Tom shot to fame as he walked 100 laps of the garden for his 100th birthday to say thankyou to the NHS.
In the entrance hall, a bronze statuette of the World War Two veteran by figurative and portrait sculptor Richard Mossman stands on a table.
The craftwork, made under commission, has had a distinguished history which included featuring in the Royal Academy’s 2021 summer exhibition.
Another promotional image of the home shows a bespoke chair made out of a World War Two-era military uniform by Bradgates Upholstery Service and The Green Barn military and outdoor supplies.
The piece of furniture, complete with epaulettes, service ribbon and a matching cushion, was personally delivered by the upholstery company and presented to Captain Tom’s family at the house in July 2020.
The gift was handed over at the height of the fundraiser’s fame in the same month in which he was knighted by the Queen.
At the time, the upholstery company said the tribute was for Ms Ingram-Moore’s ‘wonderful dad for all his great efforts’.
In the marketing images, the gift sits in a living room where other mementoes of Captain Tom’s military service adorn a mantlepiece.
The connections with the father-of-two are used as a selling point for the home, which is being marketed by international real estate agents Fine & Country and features on Rightmove.
In a guide to the house, the seller enthuses: ‘It is a playground for young and old alike; a particular special memory of our time here is of my father walking 100 laps of the garden to raise a record-breaking sum of almost £40 million during the pandemic!’
Captain Tom inspired a burst of fundraising across the country during the first national lockdown in 2020 as he completed the laps.
Setting out to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together, the amount rocketed to £38.9 million within three weeks.
After the figurehead died in February 2021, his family continued his fundraising work through The Captain Tom Foundation.
The charity is currently being investigated by the Charity Commission for possible conflicts of interest, mismanagement and whether the trustees fulfilled their legal duties and responsibilities.
Captain Tom’s daughter has also been embroiled in a saga concerning a planning application for a spa pool block at the home.
The family lost an appeal against an order from Central Bedfordshire Council to remove the Captain Tom Foundation Building.
They said that it could be used for ‘rehabilitation sessions for elderly people in the area’, but the council declared it to be ‘wholly different to the application’. Extra permission had not been sought for a sauna, pool, spa, changing rooms, toilets and showers.
The building was demolished over several days at the start of February.
In conversation with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, Ms Ingram-Moore denied the family had sought to give themselves ‘a little treat’, claiming the paperwork was filed after her father’s death ‘because we wanted it as part of that legacy, and because it was a nice thing to do’.
She said the building had been constructed with ‘all personal money’ and ‘not one penny’ from the foundation.
In relation to the links between the businesses and the foundation, Ms Ingram-Moore has previously admitted that ‘we’ve been incredibly naive’ but insisted the family are ‘wholesome, good people and we run businesses we understand’.
The property brochure does not state what the intention is for the contents shown in the marketing images for the house.
MORE : Captain Tom’s daughter puts home on the market for £2,250,000 (spa not included)
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