Captain Tom Moore's lessons on life: 'Whatever problems we are facing, we have to remain hopeful' On what would have been his 101st birthday, here is an extract from new book Captain Tom’s Life Lessons. This chapter is called 'Hope' 30 April 2021 • 5:00am With his 1912 Scott Flying Squirrel and trophies won in trials Credit: Courtesy of Captain Tom Moore's family When I first visited Robben Island in South Africa, I was so moved to think that Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid campaigner who became the country’s first black president, was imprisoned there for eighteen years, living in a tiny cell and sleeping on a straw mat.