A Scottish soldier who died during World War Two has had his brain buried alongside his body 85 years later. Donnie MacRae passed away in a prisoner of war hospital in 1941 after being captured while fighting in France.
Rare Neurological Condition
The soldier, originally from Gairloch in Wester Ross, suffered from a rare neurological condition. His brain and part of his spinal cord were removed for further research during a post-mortem examination.
His family was unaware of the removal until nearly 80 years later when researchers examined records of thousands of brains used in research by the Germans. They aimed to identify all the subjects and commemorate them properly.
Remains in Munich Archives
Around 160 small slices of Donnie's brain and spinal cord were kept in the archives of the Munich research centre ever since.
The Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) helped track down Donnie's relatives. Some of them have now made their way to Germany for a blessing ceremony.
JCCC case worker Nicola Nash told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast the additional remains had been interred. They also wanted to give the family an opportunity to remember his life and honour his sacrifice.
She said: "It gives them closure and gives them the chance to show how grateful they are because they are there because their relative fought and died for them."
Military Service
Donnie was serving as a private in the Seaforth Highlanders when he was captured while fighting in France in June 1940. He died aged 33 the following year.
His brain was removed during a post-mortem examination and sent to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Psychiatry in Munich.
Donnie's body was buried by the Germans and later reburied by the Allies in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Berlin. His family knew about his capture and death but not of his brain removal.
