North One Television is making a quick turnaround documentary about “national treasure” Captain Tom Moore.
Born and raised in Keighley in Yorkshire, he gained international fame with his quest to raise money for the NHS. His 100th Birthday Walk was intended to raise a few thousand pounds, it ended up at £28m.
The half hour documentary, Captain Tom’s War, will tell the story of his part in World War II and will be shown on VE Day.
He will look back on his time during the war in the Burma campaign, as a million Allied troops from 40 countries, attempted to repel an invasion from Imperial Japan over the course of almost 3 years, between 1941 and 1944.
He will honour the soldiers who fought in what has since become known as “The Forgotten War” due to the focus on the European battlefront.
“Captain Tom’s War will shed light on a campaign which comparatively goes unmentioned but in which our troops suffered unthinkable hardship and tens of thousands of British soldiers fought and died,” explained ITV’s Controller of Current Affairs, Tom Giles.
“Hearing this from Captain Tom Moore, who fought in Burma, means we will find out a lot more about the man who has done so much to raise our spirits at this time and the experience he and many others faced during World War Two on an occasion when we rightly come together to thank them for their sacrifice.”
Captain Tom entered officer training in 1940 at the age of 20, going on to serve in India before reaching Burma. There he was involved in the massive amphibious assault on Arakan, the instrumental part of recapturing the colony, before pushing on with his troops to the capital, Rangoon.
Produced by James Woodroffe and executive produced by Neil Duncanson and Steve Gowan, it will air at 8pm on May 8th.
