“To my little boy, I love you, and I know you will always be with me and I am so proud of what you have done for our country,” Sian Lesueur said at the end of an eulogy to her son.
Pte. Garret Chidley was killed Dec. 30 when the armoured vehicle he was in struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Three other soldiers and Vancouver-born journalist Michelle Lang were also killed in the blast.
Hundreds attended the 21-year-old’s funeral in Surrey yesterday, including Sean Harris, described as a mentor to Chidley.
Harris said Chidley will always be remembered as a hero who thought of others first.
“He is not here today because he believed so strongly in a better world and our way of life,” said Harris.
Chidley’s grandfather, Llewelyn Jones, described the soldier as an idealist and an adventurer who became a licensed pilot at age 15.
“He was a profound young mind and he had a good heart,” said Jones.
Lesueur also addressed her son’s girlfriend.
“He loved you more than anything and I know you were supposed to be married,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
