Drummer Lee Rigby, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Drummer Lee Rigby killed in Woolwich incident
23 May 2013
It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce
that the soldier killed in yesterday's incident in Woolwich, South East
London, is believed to be Drummer Lee Rigby of 2nd Battalion The Royal
Regiment of Fusiliers (attached to the Regimental Recruiting Team in
London).
The soldier’s details are being released pending formal identification from the Metropolitan Police Service.
Drummer Lee Rigby or ‘Riggers’ to his friends was born in
July 1987 in Crumpsall, Manchester. He joined the Army in 2006 and on
successful completion of his infantry training course at Infantry
Training Centre Catterick was selected to be a member of the Corps of
Drums and posted to 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (also
known as the ‘Second Fusiliers’ or ‘2 RRF’).
His first posting was as a machine gunner in Cyprus where the
battalion was serving as the resident infantry battalion in Dhekelia.
Having performed a plethora of tasks while in Cyprus, he returned to the
UK in the early part of 2008 to Hounslow, West London. Here, Drummer
Rigby stood proudly outside the royal palaces as part of the battalion’s
public duties commitment. He was an integral member of the Corps of
Drums throughout the battalion’s time on public duties, the highlight of
which was being a part of the Household Division’s Beating Retreat – a
real honour for a line infantry Corps of Drums.
In April 2009, Drummer Rigby deployed on operations for the first
time to Helmand province, Afghanistan, where he served as a member of
the Fire Support Group at Patrol Base Woqab. On returning to the UK he
completed a second tour of public duties and then moved with the
battalion to Celle, Germany, to be held at a state of high readiness for
contingency operations as part of the Small Scale Contingency Battle
Group.
In 2011, Drummer Rigby took up a recruiting post in London where he
also assisted with duties at the regimental headquarters in the Tower of
London.
An extremely popular and witty soldier, Drummer Rigby was a larger
than life personality within the Corps of Drums and was well known,
liked and respected across the Second Fusiliers. He was a passionate and
lifelong Manchester United fan.
A loving father to his son Jack, aged 2 years, he will be sorely
missed by all who knew him. The regiment’s thoughts and prayers are with
his family during this extremely difficult time. ‘Once a Fusilier,
always a Fusilier’.
Drummer Rigby's family issued a statement on Thursday, saying: "Lee
was lovely. He would do anything for anybody, he always looked after his
sisters and always protected them. He took a 'big brother' role with
everyone.
"All he wanted to do from when he was a little boy, was be in the Army.
"He wanted to live life and enjoy himself. His family meant
everything to him. He was a loving son, husband, father, brother, and
uncle, and a friend to many. "
My heart is with all who know and love this fine young Hero.. Always remembered. ALWAYS honoured.
1 comment:
Thoughts and prayers for his family and friends..R.I.P.
Post a Comment