Michael Godwin died in a hospital in Leeds last November after returning to Britain for a holiday. Two of his three sons, William and Jason Godwin, have been in a court battle over whether he should be cremated or buried. At a hearing in Leeds earlier this month, William asked a High Court judge to declare he had lawful authority to arrange his father's cremation and that Jason had no lawful authority to prevent it. The specific legal arguments presented by the brothers beyond these basic positions have not been detailed in reports, nor have the circumstances of his return to Britain or the exact cause of his death in Leeds been disclosed.
Judge Jonathan Klein ruled on Wednesday that Michael Godwin be buried in England as part of a Church of England funeral. In his reasoning, Judge Klein stated that Michael Godwin had expressed a consistent wish to be buried. He also noted that repatriating Michael Godwin's body to France could cause significant delay, adding that the delay in the funeral means his body will have decomposed in the more than five months since his death and may be in a state of putrefaction. The current condition of the body and how partial embalming has affected it remain unclear.
Michael Godwin had previously expressed a wish to be buried in France. He lived in the south of France for more than 30 years, and in a homemade will written in 2003, he expressed a wish for his body to be interred in a cemetery in Hargeville, near Paris. Hargeville was the home town of Michael Godwin's then-partner. However, Judge Klein stated that none of the Godwin family has ever had any other connection with Hargeville. He further stated it is unlikely that anyone will visit Michael Godwin's grave if he is buried in Hargeville, and that a funeral in France will lose some of its meaning or value if none of the likely mourners can speak French.
Jason Godwin wanted his father to be buried in Hargeville in line with his expressed wishes. In contrast, William Godwin wanted a cremation as the family had no connection to the French cemetery. The feelings of the third son, who is not William or Jason, about the dispute and his role in it have not been reported.
Judge Klein ordered that William must extend an invitation to his brother Jason for the funeral. The next steps for the funeral arrangements, including the specific location and date in England, have not been specified.
Michael Godwin was born in Surbiton, south London, in 1929 and had an impressive career in lift engineering.