In 2013 after the tragic murder of Lee Rigby, the famous haulage firm, Eddie Stobart named their truck to honour the 25-year-old soldier. This was the second time ever that an Eddie Stobart truck was named after a man. The first one was named Valentino after the Italian racing legend Valentino Rossi. The usual green and red Eddie Stobart trucks are mostly named after females. Therefore it is a rare honour for a man to have a truck named after him.
An H4100 truck which proudly displays the British soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby’s name was revealed in a special ceremony held in Stobart’s museum in Crick, Northamptonshire. Lee’s father, Phil McClure, who works for Eddie Stobart was given the honour to unveil the truck. The ceremony was also attended by his mother, wife and 4-year-old son. ‘Help for Heroes’, Lee’s favourite charity organization’s representatives were also there.
Lee who was a ceremonial drummer with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers had served in Afghanistan as a machine gunner. According to his father, he had a great interest in the firm Eddie Stobart and wanted to join it after he left the British army.
The haulage giant’s chief executive William Stobart, stated at the ceremony that it was a proud moment for Eddie Stobart to honour Lee’s memory. By naming a truck to honour a British hero, the Stobart’s opened a gateway for others to do it as well. A year after this occasion, in 2014, a Derbyshire haulage firm followed in their footsteps and displayed Lee’s name and picture on a lorry, to give tribute to him.
We may get busy in our lives and stop thinking about the unsung heroes for a while but by naming a truck after Lee Rigby, Eddie Stobart has made sure the British soldier is never really forgotten.
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