The former school of Captain Tom Moore - the soon-to-be 100-year-old war veteran who has raised almost £30 million for NHS charities - has helped to open the birthday cards he has received from well-wishers. Some 135,000 of them.

100 years old. £29 million raised for the NHS. 135,000 birthday cards received. 160,000 cards expected in total. 30kg of stamps which will raise £600 for charity. £60,000 received in the cards. 150 volunteers. 1,750 man-hours. 200 metres of ribbon. We salute you Captain Tom! pic.twitter.com/k7F4i1ish0

- Bedford School (@BedfordSchool) April 28, 2020

Bedford School started processing the huge amount of cards after pupil Benjie Ingram-Moore - the grandson of Captain Tom - asked if it could help when it became clear that the veteran’s local post office was being overwhelmed.

Hugh Maltby, director of Bedford School Association, who was first approached by Benjie, said there was no question of the school not helping out when being asked to do so.

Supporting Captain Tom

“Benjie has been such an inspiration in his grandfather’s campaign that we wanted to offer a way of giving back. When the family told us about all the cards being received at their local post office, I didn’t hesitate to offer school’s support to help open and display the cards,” he added. 

Even so, as the images below show, he may not have appreciated the scale of the undertaking, with the school’s Great Hall filled to bursting with cards sent to the fundraising hero.

Our Great Hall has been transformed into a sea of 100th birthday cards for Captain Tom. His grandson Benjie, a Fifth Former here at school, has been showing his grandfather photos of the cards as they have been arriving. The Captain has been ‘blown away’ by the sheer number. pic.twitter.com/CqXqVyN6dt

- Bedford School (@BedfordSchool) April 28, 2020

To help organise and open all the cards, over 100 people from the school community volunteered their time, including staff, pupils, former pupils and parents of pupils.

The school says a strict shift rota was implemented to ensure that social distancing rules were adhered to, and that card opening even had to take place over the weekend to get them all sorted in time.

James Hodgson, head master of Bedford School, said the school was delighted to have been able to play a part in helping Captain Moore celebrate his birthday.

“We are honoured to offer our Great Hall at Bedford School with our team of volunteers to act as both a makeshift sorting office and a place to display the incredible number of 100th birthday cards.”

Captain Tom Moore turns 100 on 30 April and has become an icon during the coronavirus crisis for setting out to complete 100 laps of his garden to raise money for NHS Charities Together.

He was born and brought up in Keighley, West Yorkshire. He first went to Keighley Grammar School before attending Bedford School and later completed an apprenticeship as a civil engineer.