Thanks to Captain Sir Tom, it truly will be a good tomorrow - Christa Ackroyd

In the simplest of gestures, he came to symbolise all we were searching for and made us believe we could get through the bad times and turn each day into a good day. And we can. It’s what we are doing.

Let me be honest here. This week I could have written a whole column about the true meaning of Christianity when I read about the young clergyman (he later apologised for his comments) who described the national outpouring of remembrance for Captain Tom as being akin to “a cult of white nationalism”. But I won’t. Even though I was so angry. That is not what is required this week.

Instead I thought what Captain Tom would have said. And he would have said nothing at all. He would have been sad. He would have been hurt. But he would not have uttered a single word of condemnation.

That was not his style. So I won’t either. I will turn the other cheek and remain dignified. Because that is what Captain Tom would have done. This week is not a week for shouting. It is a week of quiet reflection about a man who brought us all so much happiness, whatever our race or creed. He gave us all a common purpose, to get through this together.

When Captain Tom walked the length of his garden day after day, he made us smile every step of the way even if we were frightened of what lay ahead. We shed tears of happiness at his wisdom and his goodness as he reminded us that to never give up is the most important of all human qualities. And that kindness wins in the end.

Of course a statue in time will be wonderful. We are all living through history and when the dark clouds roll away, as they will, it will be important to remember all we have been through. And all those we have lost, including him. But more important than a statue is to remember that one man, in the last year of his long life, made a difference because he cared. And he wanted, in his own way, to say thank you for a life well lived. A life where every day counted.

What a gentleman. What a gentle man. What a humble individual he was. He reminded me of my own father, with his impeccable manners and smart dress, but also with his quiet ways.

Captain Tom, like my father, was a Yorkshireman of few words. But when he spoke it mattered. His calmness became our calmness. His kindliness became our comfort. And his humility is a lesson to us all.

In a world which has become so loud in its condemnation of others, like my father Captain Tom never had a bad word to say about anyone. He was the very best of Yorkshire, the very best of British. But for me he came to symbolise the innate goodness in people. And the power of hope. And that, as well as the millions he raised, is his legacy.

Many people have reflected this week that Captain Tom came from another generation when kindness and impeccable manners were the rules to live by. A time long gone. But it hasn’t.

I prefer to believe, as he did, that there are still people of all generations who are simply good people. We have seen it in the millions of simple acts of kindness during this pandemic.

We have harnessed that kindness and turned it into good deeds with him as our captain. It’s just that in the past year the act of caring has never been more important.

It makes me think of Captain Tom’s words in his first interview with his local television station long before he became known the world over. “One little soul like me isn’t going to make much difference”.

But what a difference he made. Just as every kind word or caring gesture has made the world of difference to those on the receiving end these past few months. He understood that.

My immediate reaction when Captain Tom died was to feel we had in some way lost our symbol of hope, our way out of the darkness. But we hadn’t. Of course we hadn’t. And he would have told us so.

On the day Captain Tom died I received news that this Monday I will receive my first Covid vaccination, having been shielding off and on for almost a year. I am not ashamed to say I cried and thought of his motto “Tomorrow will be a good day.” Because it will.

When he started his journey of fundraising, a vaccine was only a dream. But, as I write, this comes the news that one in five adults will now have been vaccinated against this terrible virus. Every day thousands feel safer and more hopeful.

And Captain Tom remained hopeful until the last day of his life. As his family told us, even as he lay dying, he wanted others to know that this last year had been among the best. That it had rejuvenated him. “Never have I had such a time”, he said. And never in my lifetime has one man meant so much to so many.

I will remember how Captain Tom made me feel for the rest of my life. It made me proud to be from Yorkshire. It made me proud of the humanity of people. It made me realise that tomorrow can, and will, be a good day if we simply weather the storm. And that we can all play our part, no matter our age or our station in life.

He even taught me a lesson about dying when he said: “Even if tomorrow is my last day, if all those I love are waiting for me then tomorrow will be a good day too.”

Sleep well, Sir. Your duty is done. Tomorrow will be a better day for all of us because of you.