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Scotsman
07-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
VE Day: The four brothers from a Scottish city hailed for bravery
Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It must have been some homecoming. The Rae brothers from Broughty Ferry, Dundee, all served during some of the fiercest battles of World War Two. All returned to the north east - and all were awarded for their exemplary gallantry on the battlefields of Europe during the Second World War. The 'extraordinary' Rae brothers from Broughty Ferry, who were all awarded the Military Cross for exemplary gallantry during World War Two. Pictured left to right are Douglas, Ian, Bruce and Stanley. Pictures: The Rae Family. | The Rae Family As young men, Stanley, Ian, Douglas and Bruce Rae were well known in their home area, with their father at the helm of a respected accountancy firm in the city. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As soldiers returning from war, the four brothers were hailed in their own right. Now, each of their medals is to go on show at the McManus museum and art gallery in Dundee, where the band of brothers made front page news during the final stages of conflict. The brothers fought across Europe and North Africa, with the youngest, Bruce, signing up to avenge the capture of his brother, Douglas, at St Valéry-en-Caux in France and his five-year spell as a prisoner of war. Major Ian Rae was awarded for fierce fighting in the Netherlands as the allied forces sought a new entry route into Germany in October 1944. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile, Major Stanley Rae was awarded following fighting near Perugia in 1945, which breached German defences and sent the enemy retreating northwards towards Rome. Medals of the Rae brothers which will go on show at the McManus in Dundee to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. PIC: Leisure and Culture Dundee. | Leisure and Culture Dundee. On the outbreak of war, he signed up to the Honourable Artillery Company, based in Armoury House, London, and after training in gunnery and being commissioned as an officer in 1939, he left for battle in 1942. Near Perugia, Major Stanley Rae's guns each fired 600 rounds in just two days of action. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ian Rae, his son, of Dundee, said: 'On behalf of the wider Rae family, I am delighted that the medals are on show at The McManus, just a street away from where the family business of McIntyre and Rae operated. 'We are also proud that they are on display ahead of VE Day to remind us all of the courage and sacrifice of the extraordinary Rae Brothers.' READ MORE: VE Day: The beautifully-written letter written from wife to sailor found behind my fireplace The brothers were the sons of Stephen and Agnes Rae of Encliffe, Albany Road, West Ferry. Their father was a partner in McIntyre & Rae, a well-known accountancy firm that he founded in 1910. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The boys had grown up in Broughty Ferry and followed each other to Cargilfield Preparatory School, then Fettes College, in Edinburgh. While Major Stanley Rae was fighting across Italy, Major Ian Rae was in battle across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany with the 76th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in Dundee, known as the Dundee Gunners. His Military Cross was awarded in October 1944 following fierce fighting near the Dutch town of Venray, as the British Second Army liberated the town and pushed towards the German border as part of Operation Overloon. He was recognised for his outstanding leadership and courage under sustained and intensive fire. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Operation Overloon followed Allied defeat at Arnhem, when a plan to secure bridges over the Lower Rhine met with stiff resistance. As British and US troops sought for a new route to the invasion of Germany, the town of Overloon was almost completely wiped from the map by allied artillery fire and air attack on October 12, 1944. The attack was mounted from heavy woodland and led to house-to-house fighting in the town. After Overloon was captured, fighting continued in the woods, with battle so fierce at Loobeek the stream through the trees became known as the "blood stream". On October 18, the Allies finally liberated Venray, where Major Ian Rae had fought in its midst. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While Major Ian Rae and his brother Stanley were fighting in Europe, their brother, Douglas, was held in a prisoner of war camp. Major Douglas Rae joined the army aged 20 and enlisted with the London Scottish Regiment, which was then affiliated to the 1st Gordon Highlanders. He was captured at St Valery in 1940 as the 51st Highland Division, placed under French command, became detached from the main British Army and the bulk of British troops evacuated following Dunkirk. The move was intended to persuade the French to fight on against Adolf Hitler as Britain withdrew from the continent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 51st Division had been charged with recapturing the Abbeville bridgehead on the Somme, but poor co-ordination hampered the plan and an attack on June 4 resulted in heavy casualties. The Germans successfully trapped the 51st Highland Division and some French troops after they withdrew to the coastal town of St Valéry-en-Caux. By June 11, an evacuation was requested by Major General VM Fortune, commander of the 51st, but the Germans pushed in harder to make any release of troops a dangerous proposition. The 7th Panzers occupied cliffs above as the fierce counter-attack continued below. Fog hampered evacuation and, ultimately, Major Douglas Rae and his fellow fighters had nowhere left to go. On June 11, the French surrendered, with the British following the next day. Five years as a prisoner of war followed for the Dundonian. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bruce Rae, the youngest of the four, was determined to avenge the capture of his brother. He left Fettes College early and returned to Dundee aged 17 to work for Brown & Tawse Steel Stockholders for a while, before also joining the Gordon Highlanders. He went on to win the equivalent of two Military Crosses. The first was awarded after his' cool and selfless courage' before and during the Battle of Alamein, when he led his men on a bayonet charge on enemy positions. The additional bar was for later action in North West Europe in 1945. Anna Day, head of libraries and cultural services at Leisure & Culture Dundee, said: "We believe that history comes alive through personal stories especially when we can connect with lived experiences.
The Courier
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
What happens next at Caird Park after closure of golf courses?
The final putts have been sunk and the flags have been removed – so what happens next to Caird Park after the closure of its two golf courses? The 18-hole and nine-hole courses at the Dundee park shut on Wednesday in a move designed to save Leisure and Culture Dundee money. With the debate about whether or not the courses should have been closed now over, The Courier examines what the future holds for one of the city's most prominent areas of public land. Leisure and Culture Dundee's board agreed to close the Caird Park courses because they were losing money. Although, as of March 2024, membership of the courses was up 4.7% on the previous year, it was claimed the number of rounds played was down by 7.5% and that every round was being subsidised by taxpayers at a cost of £9.10. As a result, it was said to be 'financially challenging' to run the facilities. Councillors ratified the decision by LACD to close the courses to save more than £400,000 a year, and the final rounds were played at the end of April. The Courier exclusively revealed back in December how a golf firm had drawn up 'exciting' plans that could see the sport retained at Caird Park. The unnamed company had expressed an interest in taking over the running of the courses in a partnership with the local authority. Its plans included upgrading the existing courses, building a driving range and creating an 18-hole mini golf course. However, these proposals have gone quiet since, and the idea of funding the development by selling some of the Caird Park land for housing could prove to be a stumbling block. The option of replacing all, or even some, of the former golf courses with housing seems very unlikely for a variety of reasons. The Dundee Local Development Plan designates Caird Park and its golf courses as open space and part of its Green Network. This is the same status given to other popular areas like Baxter Park, Camperdown Park, Balgay Park and the Law. The development plan – a land use strategy that informs planning decisions – says that 'development proposals shall protect and enhance the Dundee Green Network by ensuring that development will not lead to the fragmentation of the existing network of green infrastructure'. It also says plans to change the use of a green space such as Caird Park 'should establish that the site no longer has a potential value as green infrastructure'. Any developers looking to build on the land would need to jump through numerous other hoops, including replacing the lost green space with a new area 'of equal benefit and accessibility… in or adjacent to the community most directly affected'. Given the city's two other former municipal courses – another nine-holer at Caird Park and the old 18-holer at Camperdown – have never been sold for housing, it further suggests this idea is a non-starter. Kevin Keenan, leader of the council's opposition Labour group, said: 'When the Regional Performance Centre was built (in Caird Park), I think they needed a special application. 'This land was gifted to the people and it becomes difficult as to how you can repurpose it.' For the foreseeable, the land at Caird Park will be left to become overgrown – similar to Camperdown Park. Mr Keenan said: 'All the talk about Caird Park when the decision was made by the administration to close it was around rewilding the park. 'I suppose that means, 'let's just let it get overgrown'. 'Obviously it's a huge park, and it's very much being wasted when you consider that exercise was being taken by quite a number of people playing rounds of golf there.' However, Dundee City Council has hinted it is considering potential alternative leisure uses by 'interested parties'. It has not specified what these uses are and whether any of them involve golf. But it suggests some of the land could be brought back into use in the future. A spokesperson for the local authority told The Courier: 'The city governance committee agreed on December 2 last year that when the golf course ceases operation, there would be parkland greenspace maintenance with higher level of naturalised grass areas to support biodiversity development. 'The location will also contribute to the city's environmental objectives as defined within the Local Biodiversity Action Plan. 'This valuable greenspace will support Dundee's wider nature network, with increased biodiversity, habitat and climate-resilient woodland development areas, as nature restoration funding becomes available. 'Submissions from interested parties are also currently being appraised regarding alternative leisure development of areas within the park and any recommendations would be considered at a future committee.'
The Courier
25-04-2025
- General
- The Courier
Map reveals WW2 victims who once lived on your Dundee street
When Albert Powrie returned from service in the Great War in 1920, he married widow Janet Boyter and eventually settled down on Watson Street in Dundee. Years later, Janet would lose not just Albert but a son when conflict again erupted across Europe. Ernest Peter Powrie was only 18 when he was killed in action on March 26, 1945, while serving in Germany – just 42 days before the country surrendered. The 18-year-old was one of the first troops to cross the Rhine. Albert died just four days later of burn wounds in India, not knowing his son had been killed. But streets across the City of Discovery all carry stories of brave men and women who lost their lives in the Second World War. Such as the former home of the Powrie family on 60 Watson Street… The address is now a Sheltered Housing Office, but the Powrie home would have been demolished in the 1970s. Some streets have entirely faded away, like Bernard Street long since replaced with Dundee University buildings… The victims of the war may have lived on the same street, or even the same house, as you – and 80 years after the war officially ended in Europe we wanted to ensure they are still remembered. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day on May 8. Ahead of the milestone, we have mapped out victims from Dundee's Second World War roll of honour for the very first time. There are 1,883 people on the honour roll, but only 1,270 had known addresses within Scotland. Yet even without showing all victims, the map shows a stark reality of loss in Dundee. 'Seeing the homes of soldiers on the Dundee roll of honour mapped out in this way is a powerful way to show how their deaths affected families and communities across the city,' said Dr Erin Farley of Leisure and Culture Dundee. Use our map to find out more about the Dundee Second World War victims who once lived in your area. Addresses from the honour roll were matched up with map coordinates electronically, but were manually checked and corrected where needed. That included tracing streets which have since disappeared from Dundee like Idvies Street or Littlejohn Street. We also removed addresses outside of Scotland, which may appear on the Dundee roll of honour for various reasons such as the individual moving away before the start of the war. However, there were hundreds of names on the list with no known address. To demonstrate the full extent of the human toll the war had on Dundee, we have created a custom digital 'memorial garden'. Each person is shown alphabetically as a poppy, with the size of the flower indicating the year of death. The length of the stem shows the age of the individual, ranging from just 15 to 76-year-old. But each poppy carries a story of a life once lived. Like Edward George Guthrie Spence of Court Street. At 15, he was already serving as a firewatcher, the first line of defence against fires caused by incendiary bombs. He died carrying out that duty for the Majestic Cinema in Dundee in a fire that was described as 'one of the biggest in the city in many years'. Only the walls and operating box remained of the building on 7 Seagate after the blaze on August 28, 1941. It is believed Edward made a 'plucky effort' to check the flames. Firemen found his body next to a gas mask and the fire equipment had been pulled from the wall. His older brother Norman, a Corporal of the Black Watch, died three years later aged 24. Dr Claire Armstrong, chief executive of The Royal British Legion Scotland, urged people to take a moment this VE day to 'remember the fallen'. She said: 'This VE Day roll of honour is the perfect example of respect, reflection and remembrance for the people of Dundee who sadly lost their lives during conflict.' You can also use the table below to search for specific names. Margaret Monroe Tyrrell was the oldest casualty on the list at 76. She was the daughter of a wine and spirit merchant who lived on 20a Magdalen Yard Road in Dundee. A funeral notice in The Courier in 1944, indicates she died in southern England as a result of enemy action. But far from that ripe age, the average Dundee victim was 28-years-old. The summers of 1940 and 1944 saw the most Dundee casualties during the Second World War. A total of 58 people died in June 1940. But the summer of the Battle of Normandy brought 74 casualties in both June and July of 1944. The Second Battle of El Alamein brought the most casualties in a single day. A total of 11 deaths were recorded on October 23, 1942 and nine of them served with the Royal Highlanders. More than half of the war losses listed on the Dundee roll of honour served under the army. One in five (21.5%) of them were ranked private. But there were 145 different ranks and positions across the list. There were 57 unique positions or titles on the honour roll, including aircraftwoman 1, a piper and a surgeon. Less is known about what the people on the roll of honour did before the war. But our Archives team carried out their own research into the Second World War roll of honours. Using staff war books, they have collected detailed record on dozens of past DC Thomson employees. Sergeant Robert Whyte was one of the first to go to war, leaving Dundee before the war officially broke out. But he returned briefly to marry Abigail Thomson during embarkation leave in 1939. He was man of many talents – he was a gymnast, pianist and swim teacher alongside working as a monotype caster for DC Thomson. However, he never did return home to his wife. Whilst serving in the Middle East, Robert drowned at sea in 1943. It also includes telegraphist Donald George McPherson. His father had also worked for the editorial team of DC Thomson but died in the First World War. After two years service in the Mediterranean, Donald was expected back home in December 1942. He was 23 when he died in September of 1942 mere months before his scheduled return. Previously, we mapped out thousands of victims from Dundee's First World War roll of honour. : Dundee fights the Second World War – seen in colour for the first time Map shows most deadly World War II air attacks by Nazis on Tayside and Fife
