Tearful farewell for soldier 'now an angel in heaven'

Private Ashley Goodwin's closest army mates carry him from his funeral to a waiting gun carriage. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Ashley Goodwin's two families joined together yesterday to grieve for "a man and a hero who is now an angel in heaven".

Soldiers, serving and retired, joined the extended Goodwin family in Motueka to lay the 19-year-old to rest after the Unimog crash that claimed his life and that of two colleagues near Cromwell last week.

For the 100-strong Army contingent who travelled from Burnham Military Camp, near Christchurch, it was yet another gruelling loss to endure - six Burnham soldiers have been killed in accidents over the past year. Three were in a fatal Unimog crash last August, one in a car smash and one died after falling down the stairs of a Christchurch nightclub.

Many at yesterday's funeral fear it may be their only chance to grieve for the loss of the other young men killed near Cromwell - Shane Ohlen, 21 and David Partington, 17 - whose bodies have not been recovered from the Kawarau River.

Cromwell police have cancelled plans to reduce the water flow in order to find the Unimog and cannot say when, or if, it will be recovered. The bodies are assumed to be caught in the mangled wreckage.

In yesterday's emotional ceremony family members were comforted by soldiers and vice versa as Private Goodwin's sister Michelle told of a brother who "never hesitated to say I love you".

"He lived every day of his life to the full. He never wanted to waste a minute." Her brother was "now an angel in heaven".

His father, Alan Goodwin, thanked the Army for turning the "kid who would wander down the street with his underpants hanging out" into a man "who was so so proud to be in the Army".

He also called for a minute's silence to remember "fallen soldiers" whose bodies were yet to be found.

The tearful crowd heard of Private Goodwin's development from a blond, blue-eyed cherub to the young man who was so proud of his Army uniform he would sit on his haunches in his grandmother's car rather than get his pants creased.

His Army career was short. He joined last March and trained as a rifleman before transferring to be a driver. The crash occurred on the last week of his basic driver training programme.

Private Goodwin's commander, Major Esther Harrop, described him as confident and determined. "Ashley, Ash or Goodie would always look after his mates," she said. "He would often volunteer to be the sober driver to ensure that his mates always made it home safely."

As the song We've Gotta Get Out of this Place echoed around the RSA hall a long queue of tearful and solemn soldiers filed past their colleague's casket to drop poppies on top, before his closest friends carried him outside to the gun carriage.

In silence the soldiers and Goodwin family joined again to follow the coffin in a military procession along Motueka's main street to the crematorium.

Private Goodwin's ashes were interred last night in a private family ceremony.