SOLACE FOR THE FAMILY OF MURDERED Lee Rigby’s mum: I’ll always miss my boy but I’ve finally found peace

“The last four years of grief have been horrendous but everything changed the moment we moved to our new home a few weeks ago.

“Since Lee died I have been going through the motions at Christmas for the sake of my children and grandchildren. But this year I feel we will be celebrating for the first time since he left us.

“It’s hard to explain but I feel as if Lee is guiding us and telling us it’s time to get on with our lives and have some happiness.

“That doesn’t mean forget him. He will always be part of our family.

“Whatever we do, Lee is always in our hearts and minds.

“He absolutely loved Christmas – he was a big soft kid at heart – and tomorrow we will raise a glass to him and cherish each other on this very special family day.”

Fusilier Rigby, 25, was butchered by two terrorists near his barracks in Woolwich, South East London, in 2013.

Lyn and her family were thrown into despair in the wake of losing Lee. But they are now united in his memory.

She said: “I really believed I was going to die of grief. The pain was so intense I didn’t think anyone could survive.

“It’s been the worst journey ever and I wouldn’t wish it on my enemy but somehow you find the strength to battle through it. I still have bad days when I don’t want to face the world but Lee is my guiding force.

“I’ve come to learn that he wouldn’t want me or his family weeping and mourning every day. Lee loved his family so much and he would want us all to be happy as a family again.”

Lyn feels her personal salvation came through the launch of the Lee Rigby Foundation, the charity she set up to create a lasting legacy for Lee’s life. Two years on, Lyn has opened the doors to Lee Rigby Lodge, a stunning fourbedroom retreat for bereaved military families to escape to when life gets too much to bear. The next phase of the project is to develop lodges on the estate as a respite for military veterans. The success of the charity has all been made possible by the incredible generosity of former celebrity wrestler Kendo Nagasaki, a TV star of the 70s and 80s. He donated t he buildings t o Lyn’s foundation from part of his stunning private country estate nestled in woodlands and rolling fields. In a further gesture of kindness, he invited Lyn and her family to move to a beautiful new home next to the retreat so she can be on hand to work on the foundation and look after guests who come to stay.

Lyn moved to the country estate, in Staffordshire from her family home in Middleton, Manchester, which was the house that Lee was brought up in since he was eight years old.

Proud

It has proved to be the start of a completely new life for Lyn and a beacon of hope for her future.

She said: “It was like living in a goldfish bowl most days in our old house.

“There was no escaping what had happened to Lee and even if I went to the shops people would stare, knowing I was the mum of the soldier who was murdered in London.

“Even though Lee grew up in our house in Middleton, it felt right to get away.

“It was like breaking free from the grief that was crippling me and it gave me a