Lee Rigby: Memorial to murdered soldier unveiled in his hometown

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world

Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

A memorial to murdered soldier Lee Rigby was unveiled in his hometown today.

The 25-year-old was killed in an unprovoked street attack by Islamic extremists in Woolwich, south London in May 2013.

His four year old son Jack was believed to have been one of the mourners at the private ceremony in Middleton Memorial Gardens in Greater Manchester this morning.

Alongside Rigby’s widow Rebecca he lay a floral wreath to his father which said: “Me and Mummy Miss and Love You lots and lots. Jack xxx.”

The statue, of a bronze drum and a plaque, was showed first to family and friends in private before being unveiled to the public this afternoon.

It signifies Rigby’s service as a drummer and machine gunner with the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

His mother, father and step-father also attended the dedication ceremony.

His father, Philip McClure told the ceremony: "I am still coming to terms with what happened. Lee will never be forgotten and this memorial is keeping his memory alive in his hometown."

Col Mike Glover, regimental secretary of the Lancashire Fusiliers said the day of the soldier’s death will “forever be embedded in our nation’s history.”

"The afternoon of May 22 2013 Fusilier Lee Rigby... paid the ultimate sacrifice when the horror of the battlefield was brought to the streets of Woolwich,” he said “For many here today [that day] will remain forever in our hearts.”

In October last year Greenwich Council announced it would unveil a plaque to all fallen servicemen and women in St George's Chapel garden, opposite Woolwich Barracks where Rigby was based.