THE poignant last words sent home by a soldier who died in the war in Iraq were made public yesterday.

Royal Marine Chris Maddison - a former pupil of Guisborough's Laurence Jackson School - was wounded when his landing craft was ambushed during a river patrol as the coalition forces fought for control of the Al Faw peninsula in an early phase of the war.

He died later in a field hospital.

Last Wednesday, soldiers wept at a funeral service at St Mary's Church, in Scarborough, where his mother, Julie, and stepfather, Tony, run a hotel.

The family urged the public to continue supporting the troops in the Middle East.

Details also emerged of Marine Maddison's last e-mail home.

He urged his mother not to worry, assuring her he would not be in any danger and joking: "They are giving me a gun for this one so don't worry. I just need to work out how to fire it now."

Marine Maddison ended the message saying: "Don't worry, Mum. Grandad's here with me on this one."

In a message included in the Order of Service at last week's funeral, the family wrote: "The war in Iraq was symbolic of a new concept on planet Earth called peace. It represents the solution of the unsolvable and the healing of hearts at the core. It is a new energy that turns rage into temperance and hatred into understanding.

"Be proud of those who fight for justice and fair play, for they will, and do, make your Earth a safer place. Goodnight sweetheart."