THE bells of Worcester Cathedral rang out this weekend to honour the life of legendary fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore.

The Worcester Cathedral bellringers tolled the bourdon bell 100 times on February 27, just after midday, in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore on the day of his funeral.

After the bell had stopped tolling, a round of applause broke out from the public in Cathedral Square.

The Dean of Worcester, Peter Atkinson said: “Captain Sir Tom Moore exemplified the very best of human courage, compassion, resilience, hope and generosity under extraordinary and challenging circumstances.

"We are proud to honour him by tolling the bourdon bell in his memory. Our thoughts remain with his family and loved-ones.”

The bourdon bell of Worcester Cathedral is normally used by the clock to strike the hours, and is tolled on significant occasions.

His family paid tribute to the veteran and NHS charity fundraiser at his funeral, saying his “message and his spirit lives on”.

Sir Tom’s coffin, draped in a union flag, was carried to the crematorium on Saturday by soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment while a Second World War-era C-47 Dakota performed a flypast. This was followed by a firing party of 14 each firing three rounds in unison before a small service got under way.

The service, at Bedford Crematorium, was attended by eight members of Sir Tom’s immediate family – his two daughters Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira, four grandchildren and his sons-in-law – all wearing masks.

It opened with the charity single Sir Tom recorded with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir, You’ll Never Walk Alone, which reached number one in the UK singles charts in April last year.

His daughter Ms Teixeira, 52, then paid tribute to Sir Tom, who captured the hearts of the nation with his fundraising efforts during the first coronavirus lockdown when he walked 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden before his 100th birthday, raising more than £32 million for the NHS.