Funeral held in Vancouver for soldier killed after grass fire overtook troops at CFB Wainwright

The Story

Pte. Aidan Goulding, 23, was remembered Sunday as a globe-trotting, sporty and car-loving soldier with an infectious sense of humour and a fearless love for life, as hundreds of military personnel, family and friends gathered at an armoury in Vancouver for his funeral.

Goulding was one of four soldiers killed last month after a grass fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta overtook troops during a training exercise. Thirty-nine others were injured, and many remained in hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary.

The funeral began with soldiers carrying Goulding’s flag-draped casket into the armoury, with the sound of a bagpipe and some words from a rabbi.

Sonia Monk, Goulding’s mother, described his upbringing in North Vancouver with his brother, Wylder, who was also his best friend. “They had each other’s backs,” she said. “Their relationship touched my heart deeply, and I was content in knowing that they would always be close.”

Monk said Goulding grew up competitive and curious, played many sports including soccer and rugby, and developed a love for cars at a young age. Her family said he spent hours buying used cars, fixing them late into the night on the family driveway, and then reselling them, with the first car he tuned being a used Chrysler 300C. “The modification: make it louder,” the family said.

Monk also described Goulding as stylish and “unapologetically himself.” She said he asked to wear a white suit on his first day of Grade 4, and when he turned 21, he requested a gold suit. “He was unapologetically himself, and I admired that,” she said.

After he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, Goulding “felt like he found a place where he belonged,” Monk said, adding that it gave him a sense of purpose, a family and a place he “truly felt at home.”

Monk said the family has described Goulding as a globetrotter, including time exploring Mexico, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Malta, the Netherlands, England and Spain.

Reagan Goulding, Goulding’s aunt, said during the funeral that he often made those around him laugh, and acknowledged the difficulty of losing someone at a young age. “This is perhaps one of the hardest parts of losing someone so young,” she said. “It’s not just the memories we have lost, but the opportunity to make a relationship we still had time to build.”

Reagan Goulding also spoke about the other soldiers killed in the fire alongside Goulding: Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, B.C.; Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton; and Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, of Prince Albert, Sask. “Aidan and his fellow soldiers will not be forgotten,” Reagan said.