William Logan "Willie"

Attribution: unknown or not recorded

William Logan "Willie" 1913 - 1966

William was born in 1913 in Muir of Ord where he attended the local school before attending Dingwall Academy and then Aberdeen university to train as a pilot.

However the family business forced him to return to Muir of Ord to help his father. He joined the company aged 18, at that time his father had a workforce of 40. 

Under the magic touch of William the company rose like a meteor. His contribution to Highland Development saw him receiving the Freeman of Dingwall in 1965.

A devout member of the Free Church, Willie Logan would not allow his employees to work on a Sunday unless it was necessary for the work to be done on the Sabbath. There was one such recorded Sunday, during the construction of the Tay Bridge, when the tide was low enough to permit work to be carried out.

In 1947, the company became a limited liability company with Willie Logan, his sister Mrs Scott, Alistair Logan and Mr. J.B. Baird as its’ Directors. Willie was a flamboyant building contractor and entrepreneur which saw the company involved in many significant construction projects, including the Garry-Moriston, Conon Hydro-Electric Schemes and the building of the Tay Road Bridge.

Work on the Tay Road Bridge commenced in March 1963 with a milestone in the bridge construction being achieved on 15th February 1965 as the closing of the final gap in the temporary bridge saw Fife and Angus being at last linked. At a peak three hundred and sixty men worked on the bridge construction.

Sadly, contractor Willie Logan never saw his bridge completed. He was killed in January 1966 when his private plane crashed at Dulnain Hill near Inverness.

He had been returning from an onsite visit to the works on the Tay Bridge and due to his own aircraft being on other commitments, he chartered an aircrfat from Strathallan. He was 10 hours short of gaining his pilots licence.

Professor Robert Grieve, chairman of the Highland Development Board paid tribute syaing:

“Willie Logan was a legend and will remain a legend in the Highlands. He created an industry of national scale and importance from a headquarters in the Highlands. He was one of the few really big symbols of confidence by the Highlander in the Highlands. His death cannot destroy that, and his example will never now be forgtotten.”

 His gravestone at Fodderty cemetery, near Strathpeffer, is in the shape of a section of the Tay Road Bridge. The inscription reading:

“Man of vision, courage and integrity. A pioneer of hydro-electric construction and a wise master-builder who contributed much to his native land. He left monuments to his skill in many parts.”

Willie Logan headstone

Attribution: not recorded or unknown

Willie also took risks with another of his legacies being the creation of Loganair in 1962.


The story of 60-year-old Scottish airline Loganair begins in Dundee when owner of a wide, empty strip of land at Riverside Park, William Logan, saw the potential and expressed interest in developing the area for flying. A small landing strip was scraped out across several of the old pitches and Mr Logan purchased the air taxi firm Capital Services, renaming it Loganair.The first flight took off in 1962, which also helped in Mr Logan’s securing of the contract to build the Tay Road Bridge.
Mr Logan used his recently purchased Piper Aztec to complete the journey and won the contract with just 15 minutes to spare. The bridge was completed in August 1966, and at 2.25km in length it was the longest river crossing in the country at the time.


In 1964 Loganair won the contract to be the airline to deliver newspapers to Stornoway which was to be the beginning of the airline’s relationship with the rural community. An Orkney Inter Isles service commenced in 1967, connecting mainland Kirkwall to the smaller islands. In the same year a supplementary air ambulance contract was also won, and the first ambulance flight was operated by the Piper Aztec. In its 60 years, Loganair has grown to be the largest regional airline in the UK and remains a lifeline for the Highlands and Islands through its’ domestic flights and its Royal Mail partnership.

 

Willie Logan at work

Attribution: not recorded or unknown

Personal Life

William married Helen McLennan Dunbar of Dingwall in 1942 where they also settled in a modern “state of the art” home at Parklea. A home and gardens that were admired by many locals, visitors and bus tours, to the area.

Parklea, Dingwall

Attribution: not recorded or unknown

Page created on 29 May 2022

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