Tributes paid to kind and adventurous boy who died suddenly

Jack Rae, who died on 17 February, 2006, was a kind and gentle 11-year-old who died suddenly while playing near to his home.

Jack loved playing out, with his friends or by himself; he loved the woods, building dens and climbing trees; he loved swimming, whittling wood and making bows and arrows; his pets were a hamster and a stick insect.

After his death it was discovered that Jack had a fatal heart condition - he could have lived a long life without ever knowing about his condition or died any day.

He was survived by his parents, Ruth and Anthony, his brothers and sisters, David 24, Charlotte 16, Megan 15, Mary 9, Adam 7, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Jack’s family said he was a special boy, strong and brave but kind and gentle, painfully shy and yet so adventurous.

Mr Rae, a retired police sergeant, is the founder and chairman of the Police Roll of Honour Trust, a registered charity that remembers police officers killed on duty.

Mr Rae said Jack struggled at high school but he tried hard. He said he "couldn’t do maths" but in four months he got four merit notes from school, three for maths.

Two weeks after he died the family received a gold merit note and a class winner certificate for a geography project he completed in his last week at school.

Jack had been happy at his primary school, he knew there were plans for an adventure playground there and hoped it would be built before he left but there were insufficient funds.

An independent fund was set up after Jack’s death and a year later the "Jack Rae Adventure Playground" was opened at his former primary school.

Jack's short life and tragic death influenced and affected many people - 250 attended his memorial service and a staggering £25,000 was donated to his fund enabling the community to build the playground and to help fund other projects for children.