THE story of a group of Glasgow brothers who ruled the waves as a crew of rowers is to be told in a new exhibition.

The Penny brothers, Tom, Laurie, Sandy and Bill, were known as The Fourpence Ha'penny Crew, with the "half penny" being their 10-year-old sibling Jimmy who acted as the team's cox.

All were vigorous members of Clyde Amateur Rowing Club in the early 1930s and won a number of trophies in fours and pairs events, with their biggest triumphs coming when they rowed together.

They took the junior Scottish title in both 1929 and 1930, and made it a clean sweep by winning the senior race in 1931.

Now Tom's son William has collected trophies, photographs and even a sweat-stained shirt worn by his father and donated them to Glasgow Transport Museum. The exhibition there is to be opened by his uncle Jimmy, the last surviving member of the team, later this month.

William said: "I've spent six years tracking down photographs and information on my dad and the team, and I'm delighted that the museum has decided to put them on show. It's quite an emotional thing.

"When I was young my father took me to the boathouse, and there were all those photos of teams from down the years, but none of him or his brothers. He joked to me that they were too jealous of their success.

"So now everyone can see them and learn about how popular rowing was between the wars in Glasgow."

The brothers, twins Tom and Laurie and younger brothers Sandy and William, were brought up in the city's Govanhill in a family who moved to the city from Aberdeen.

Tom and Laurie occasionally returned to the city to train, riding on bicycles to the north-east for weekends.

William said that his father, who died in the 60s, remained a passionate fan of rowing and would be glued to the TV screen whenever the sport was shown.

However, he was less than impressed with his modern-day counterparts' fitness. William said: "He would watch them and say that they were puffing hard by the end of the race because they were out of breath, then tell me 'we never did that'.

"But he was really excited by every race. You used to see his hands tighten involuntarily on imaginary oars as he matched strokes with whoever was on TV."

William's uncle Jimmy, who is now in his 90s, also has many tales to tell of cold mornings training on the Clyde and even colder afternoons when their boat sank in the river.

But his strongest memories are of the wonderful feeling of pulling hard, working together and crossing the finishing line far in front of the competition alongside his brothers.

He will open the Penny Brothers display at the museum on Thursday afternoon.

Councillor Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life said: "Riverside Museum is full of the stories of the people connected to Glasgow and Scotland's transport history.

"The Penny brothers display is another fascinating glimpse of the Clyde's history, not just as the industrial heart of Glasgow but also as a home of sport and recreation.

"Rowing is a familiar sight to this day on the river and this display will add another layer to our understanding of the history of the Clyde."