‘24 years will never feel like enough’: Family’s heartbreaking tribute to Dorset Police officer Alex Ayre
The family of 24-year-old Dorset Police officer Alex Ayre have paid a heartbreaking tribute to a young man whose life has been described in terms of love, laughter, friendship and an ability to make almost everyone around him feel valued.
Alex died after police were called to reports of a casualty on railway tracks at around 9.20am on Friday, September 25. Dorset Police subsequently confirmed that the casualty was serving Police Constable Alex Ayre.
Alex joined Dorset Police on June 27, 2022, and worked in response policing covering the Boscombe and Bournemouth area. His death has left his family, friends and colleagues facing the devastating reality of losing someone so young.
For his family, however, Alex was never simply a police officer.
He was their son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin and best friend.
And he was loved.
In a deeply moving tribute, his family said: “None of us ever imagined we would be having to say goodbye to you so soon.
“Losing you has left a space in our lives that can never be filled.”
They described Alex as a “handsome, charming young man” with a personality that naturally drew people towards him.
He had, they said, a remarkable ability to make people feel welcome, accepted and included, regardless of who they were.
That description says something profound about the person Alex was.
His family remembered someone who was always there for others, always willing to help and always thinking about how those around him were feeling.
He was somebody people knew they could turn to.
And away from work, he was remembered as the “life and soul of the party” – the cheeky one who could make “absolutely anyone laugh”.
He brought laughter, warmth and personality wherever he went.
For his family, those qualities are now part of a lifetime of memories that will be treasured forever.
There will be childhood memories. Nights out. Work stories. Ridiculous moments. Private jokes. Conversations that once seemed ordinary but which will now become precious.
“There are so many people who have their own memories of you,” his family said.
“That is the mark you left on people.”
Perhaps the most painful words in the tribute are those which acknowledge everything that will never now happen.
The family said they would “give anything” to have more time with Alex.
There were, they said, “so many more memories still meant to be made”.
At just 24 years old, Alex had so much life ahead of him.
His family summed up that cruel sense of time being taken away with a sentence that will resonate with anyone who has ever experienced the loss of someone young:
“24 years will never feel like enough.”
Dorset Police Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said Alex was loved by his squad in Bournemouth South and by colleagues and others he had met during his four years in Dorset. She expressed condolences to his family and everyone affected by his death.
Behind every police officer is a person, a family and a network of people who love them.
For Alex’s family, there will now be an unbearable absence where a much-loved young man should be.
But there will also be memories.
Memories of his smile, his humour, his kindness, his cheekiness and the way he made people feel included.
Those memories cannot bring Alex back.
But they can ensure that the person he was is never forgotten.
His family’s final words are perhaps the most fitting tribute of all:
“Forever our son.
Forever our grandson.
Forever our brother.
Forever our nephew.
Forever our cousin.
Forever our Alex.”
Twenty-four years was nowhere near long enough.
But Alex Ayre clearly made an extraordinary impression on the people whose lives he touched.
And that is how he will be remembered, not simply as a police officer, but as a much-loved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, friend and colleague whose absence will be felt for years to come.
