Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'd like to pay tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore, who was born on 30 April 1920 in West Yorkshire. His mother and father ran a successful construction company. His father was deaf and the sense of loneliness that this condition made his father feel stayed with Sir Tom and become one of the causes he championed through the course of his life. He married his second wife Pamela in 1968 and they had two daughters, Lucy and Hannah. Sadly, the last 10 years of Pamela's life were spent battling the effects of dementia. This battle again reinforced Sir Tom's belief in the need to campaign to help people overcome the effects of loneliness. Captain Sir Tom saw active service in the far east, holding the rank of captain in the Duke of York regiment during the second world war, and, as we've all witnessed, he wore his service medals with such pride and passion. He was, however, not romantic about the terrible effects of war on people's lives and said of his experience, 'I wasn't a hero; I was just lucky. I hope there are no more wars; they are fruitless things.'

The last 12 months of his life have been truly remarkable—recovering from a fall that broke a rib, punctured a lung and shattered his hip to raising nearly £40 million for various charities and becoming a national hero and treasure at a time of national emergency. While I'm sure there are many that have shed a tear at Sir Tom's passing, he did not fear death, and I will close on his thoughts:

'Some people can't bear the thought of death, but I draw strength from it...if tomorrow is my last day, if all those I loved are waiting for me, then that tomorrow will be a good day too.'

Thank you, sir. You were truly a remarkable son, brother, soldier, husband, father and grandfather and an all-round thoroughly decent human being.