VE Day: The four brothers from a Scottish city named among bravest fighters in land

Four medals for four brothers.

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.

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.

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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.

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.”

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

“We're therefore grateful to the Rae family for allowing us to share the heroics of these brothers with visitors through their medals and pleased to have them on display ahead of the 80th anniversary of VE Day.”