Moray exile loses cancer battle
PC Lynn Aston
AN ELGIN woman who became one of Gloucestershire’s top police officers has been laid to rest after a brave battle with cancer.
Hundreds packed Gloucester Cathedral for the funeral service of PC Lynn Aston (née Thomson), who was 48.
Mrs Aston, a mother of two, was named the county’s Beat Officer of the Year in 2009, having moved to Churchdown and joined the force eight years earlier.
Brought up in Elgin, she attended Elgin Academy and worked at Luckpenny and Little The Jewellers, as well as nannying in Germany, before becoming engaged to RAF serviceman Eamonn Aston.
Just after their marriage, he was posted south and the couple settled near Whaddon, where Mrs Aston joined the police and became a popular and respected member of the Safer Community team.
She was diagnosed with cancer in February, 2010, but still took part in the Gloucester Race For Life last October, despite undergoing intensive chemotherapy at the time.
"That was just the kind of her," said her mother, Maureen Thomson, of Elgin’s Linkwood Road.
"Half the things she achieved we never knew about, because she wasn’t looking for any praise."
Mrs Aston was fighting the disease at the same time as her father, James, who sadly lost his own battle in February.
In his eulogy, former Chief Constable Dr Tim Brain paid tribute to an "inspirational" officer who put her heart and soul into her job.
Speaking on behalf of all of her colleagues, Sgt Mark Stephens added: "Lynn was all the things a police officer should be, and so much more. She achieved so many things in just eight years’ operational service with us.
"She wasn’t just a police officer; she was a phenomenal police officer."
Mrs Aston, who died on April 14, is survived by her husband and children Claire and Ian. Donations can be made in her memory to Cancer Research UK via www.justgiving.com/pclynnaston1616
