Lee Rigby’s sister has planned a grueling challenge to mark the 12 year anniversary of her brother’s brutal murder. Proceeds of the fundraiser will go towards the Lee Rigby Foundation which supports bereaved military families
The sister of British soldier Lee Rigby has shared a heart-wrenching message 12 years on from his brutal murder.
Lee, who joined the Army in 2006 and was deployed to Afghanistan three years later, was killed aged just 25 by extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale. At the time he was working in a recruitment post for the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Off-duty, he was entering the barracks in civilian clothes when his killers mowed him down in a speeding car, and then attacked him with knives and meat cleavers before shouting “Allahu Akhbar” – God is great – and waiting for police. At the end of a four-week trial at the Old Bailey the killers were both handed life sentences, with ringleader Adebolajo facing a whole-life tariff.
Thursday May 22, will be twelve years since the brutal murder and Lee Rigby’s sister, Courtney Rigby, has shared a heartbreaking message saying: “My daughter will never get to meet her Uncle Lee.” The 24-year-old also shared the unusual way she has decided to mark the anniversary this year.
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Courtney Rigby will be taking part in the Great South Run on October 19 and the Alton Towers Half Marathon on November 16. As well as the gruelling runs, there are other fundraising events taking place in aid of the Lee Rigby Foundation which supports bereaved military families.
Courtney, 24, who had a baby girl Josie in August 2023, told the Sun: “Since the Great South Run was cancelled last year, I feel like a run is owed and whilst I’m not sure I could manage a marathon just yet, I will be running the Alton Towers Half Marathon not long after the Great South.
“We lost Lee 12 years ago now and the place it left our family in was something nobody should ever have to experience. My daughter will never get to meet her Uncle Lee, but will know him through stories and other people and will see what his memory means in the fundraising done with him in mind
“The Foundation has been going from strength to strength gaining more caravans and the more money raised means more retreats and more support for more families. Anything you can give is greatly appreciated.”
Last year, Lee Rigby’s mum, Lyn, emotionally revealed that she still talks to her late son every day and kisses his photo goodnight. She said: “I have my own time every single day when I talk to Lee. I have a big photo on my wall, when everybody’s gone to bed, I usually have about an hour and I just look at his picture – tell him what I’ve done that day or what we’ve done, what the family has done, and then kiss him goodnight and then go to bed,” emotionally adding that she always keeps a place at the dinner table for Lee too.
Talking about what the family usually does on each heartbreaking anniversary of his murder, Lyn said: “We usually go up to the crematorium, we lay flowers with Lee, we’ll get all the family together and go for a nice meal. But now, all the kids have left home now, it’s only myself and Ian left. We’re scattered all over so it’s hard to get us all together now and again.”
Before Courtney’s half-marathons, next weekend, hundreds of riders will remember Lee and fellow soldier Scott Hetherington in the Combined Lee Rigby / Scott Hetherington and The Armed Forces Memorial Ride 2025. The annual event is held in memory of Lee and Scott, who was killed in Iraq in 2017 when he was accidentally shot by a fellow soldier.
This year’s ride will start at 11am from Asda Rochdale on Sunday, May 18, with motorcycle and scooter riders from across the country taking part. They will pass through Heywood and into Middleton Memorial Gardens for a memorial service.