Riders recall NZ soldier lost during black month

A New Zealand soldier who died in a firefight with militants in Afghanistan is being honoured this weekend by a remembrance motorbike ride.

Douglas “Duggy” Grant, an SAS corporal, died in a firefight with Taliban insurgents as he tried to rescue civilians following an attack on the British Council building in Kabul on August 19, 2011.

The weekend ride ends at his grave in Napier. Other soldiers who died in Afghanistan are also being mourned this month. Grant’s widow, Tina, NZ Army liaison officer for families of the fallen, said: “It’s a busy month. We’ve pretty much got an anniversary every week and obviously four on one day.”

For Tina, the annual event helps her and 13-year-old Jemma and 11-year-old Jaden cope deal with the pain every August brings.

“This is always a crappy week. But I know that at the end of it, we’ll be all together; like-minded people all dealing with the one thing,” Tina said.

“The boys don’t get smashed; it’s not like that. It’s a gathering, and that’s what I like about it. My kids are there, my nieces, nephews and cousins. Duggy’s buried in Napier and that’s where I was born and bred, and so it’s a huge family deal for us.”

Both Tina and Duggy belonged to the Patriots Defence Force Motorcycle Club. They enjoyed the long rides, with Tina as pillion passenger, until Duggy bought her a bike.

Tina attended a memorial service yesterday for Special Forces Lance Corporal G Porter, who died training at Meremere on August 14, 1970 — another August army fatality — and chatted to one of Duggy’s old mates. They laughed at how Duggy had decked out his bike extravagantly in LED lights.

Tina rides Duggy’s bike now. And this year, daughter Jemma will be clutching her back: “It’ll just be her and me and we’re pretty excited.”

After a memorial service at an SAS chapel in Auckland on Friday, an expected 100-120 bikes will rendezvous nearby for a ride to Taupo. They’ll spend a night there, tucking into a hangi.

On Saturday, they’ll travel to Napier and pay their respects at Duggy’s gravesite before enjoying a live band at Taradale RSA. Funds raised will go to the Douglas Grant Children’s Memorial Trust Fund.

“Duggy always loved big parties, and the ride is always huge, it’s humbling,” Tina says. “We have 10 servicemen and women who died in August. So it means a lot to our families that people are still interested in remembering our people and keeping their memories alive.”