The mother of Greater Manchester soldier Lee Rigby has spoken out ahead of the tenth anniversary of her son's murder.
Lee, from Langley, Middleton, was brutally murdered in broad daylight on May 22, 2013, just 200 yards from his army barracks in Woolwich, London. Now, his mother, Lyn, has spoken of her “decade of heartbreak” - and says she only survived the devastation of her son’s execution because of the love of her husband and four daughters.
She has vowed to make sure Lee is never forgotten. Speaking to the Mirror, she said: “Ten years without my son has been heartbreaking.
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“The pain is there every day, so much so that it becomes a part of you.
“But what tears me apart is to think that people have forgotten him 10 years on. It’s my job to make sure people remember him – not just as the murdered soldier from the TV but as a loving son, dad and brother.”
A machine gunner and proud drummer from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Lee, 25, was killed in a terrorist attack The savage killing was carried out by two Islamist extremists as he walked home to his army barracks.
He was off-duty and in civilian clothes when British-born Muslim converts Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale picked Lee out at random and attacked him.
They mowed him down from behind in a speeding car before hacking him to death in the street with knives and meat cleavers, almost beheading him in front of hundreds of terrified onlookers.
But what stunned witnesses was that the jihadi killers didn’t run away after the murder. Instead, as police sirens drew closer, they stayed put, roaming among the public, glorying in what they had just done.
They tried to justify their actions as revenge for the deaths of fellow Muslims in wars such as Afghanistan.
Lyn said: “This was one of the greatest ironies of all – the fact that Lee had survived brutal frontline fighting against the Taliban during a tour of Afghanistan several years before.
“That was a horrendous time. Every day I lived in fear of him being killed in battle and when he returned home, it was a huge relief. Yet here he was in London, supposedly safe, and this is where it turns out he was at most danger.
“The fact the killers asked people to film them next to my son’s dead body means that it is forever out there on the internet and we, as a family, have to live with that.”
The perpetrators expected to be killed at the scene by armed police, hoping they would be “martyred” for their cause. Instead, they were wounded and arrested, and later stood trial for Lee’s murder.
Both were given life sentences, with ringleader Adebolajo facing a whole-life tariff.
Lyn said: “I’ll never forget the darkest of days when he first died. I remember just wanting to die too so I could be with Lee. It was only being a mum to four other children that stopped me taking my own life.
“My husband Ian and my four girls saved me from myself. All of them were hurting so badly, including Ian, who loved Lee as his own despite being his stepdad.
“Together they all threw a ring of protection around me. As a family we pulled through together and to this day I have no idea how I am still standing. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the human heart can survive such sadness.”
As time marches on, what’s crucial for Lyn is that Lee remains a huge part of the family.
She said: “We will always have an empty chair at the heart of our family now – at birthdays, Christmas and Easter – even summer barbecues and simple get-togethers. Lee will always be missing but he is never forgotten. When Sara got married a few years ago, she had a chair and a place setting for Lee at her top table with a candle burning next to a gorgeous photo of her brother.”
Lyn has also devoted time to running her charity, the Lee Rigby Foundation, which she set up to help bereaved military families like her own, as well as suffering veterans.
She said: “When my life fell apart, I had nowhere to run to for help. That’s why I vowed to use Lee’s name for good, by creating a retreat where grieving families can escape to when life becomes too hard to bear.”
The foundation offers military families who have lost a loved one the chance of a break in a caravan on the picturesque coastline of Wales.
Lyn said: “It doesn’t take the pain away but when you’re dealing with such intense grief and loss, it’s vital to get away sometimes, find some peace and recharge the batteries. It’s time out from the real world.”
She said of Lee: “He was a kind soul. He was no saint but he was a loving and generous person – and very loud too! Sometimes it’s the noise I miss most of all. Lee was like a human tornado with so much wild energy.
“My world went very quiet when he left us. I’d give anything for him to burst through the door and rip through the stillness of my day.
“Where once I wanted the world to end, today I use precious memories of my boy to lift me up and carry on. If I’ve learned anything in the past 10 years, it’s to make the most of every day and cherish your loved ones.
“The very last photo of Lee was taken the day before he died. He has never looked so happy or handsome and it’s an image I cherish.
“He was in such a great place in his life. He was deeply in love with a girl he was going to marry, he adored his young son Jack, had a fabulous Army career and was surrounded by the family he loved. But fate took a wrecking ball to all our lives.
“Ten years on, we are still heartbroken. But we are also defiant and determined to live life to the full, as Lee would have done. Whenever I am unsure in life, I often ask myself, ‘What would Lee do?’ Some days I feel like Lee is standing right next to me. It’s not scary. It’s comforting.”
On May 22, Lyn will spend time with her family to remember Lee.
She said: “Over 10 years our family has cried an ocean of tears, so we balance that by coming together to talk about him, tell our daftest, funniest stories. A decade without Lee has been devastating but we will never let him be forgotten.”
For more information on the Lee Rigby Foundation or bookings for the retreat, contact 01538 702949 or email info@leerigbyfoundation.org or retreat-wales@leerigbyfoundation.org.
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