Phil Logan, 1964-2016
After the long-delayed inquest opened yesterday into the deaths of seven passengers on a Croydon tram in a derailment at Sandilands in November 2016, today was spent with family members of those who died reading prepared statements – pen portraits – to described their lost loved ones.
The pen portrait for Phil Logan was read out to the inquest by his granddaughter, Danielle, on behalf of his widow, Marilyn
Philip Paul Logan (‘Phil’) died in the tram accident on Wednesday 9th November 2016. Phil was born on the 11th January 1964 and so he would have been 52 years of age when he died.
Phil and I had been together for 32 years. We got married on the 20th September 2002 in Cyprus. It was a beautiful wedding although I do remember that it was very hot.
Philip was brought up in the same area as me. His parents were publicans and the family tended to move around in the Croydon/Thornton Heath area. I knew both of his parents who were lovely people. I met Phil in around 1984 in a working man’s club which his uncle ran. When I first met him, I thought that he was a beautiful person, bubbly and always easy to get on with. He had a great love of animals and he had a witty charm. He was also a hard-working man. He loved to play snooker, golf and fishing. He also built a pond in which he kept koi carp. He would also do pieces of building work for other people, which would be entirely free of charge.
I have four children from a previous relationship: Lisa Allen, date of birth 2nd November 1974; Tracy McAuley, date of birth 23rd April 1972; Lee Sherwood (male), date of birth 14th August 1970; and Adele Farrow, date of birth 1st December 1985. Although these were not Phil’s biological children, he treated them as his own. Lee still lives in our house and he was heavily financially dependent upon Phil. Phil was a very generous soul and was happy to provide for him, and so he treated him like his own son.
Phil loved children. I have five grandchildren, and he was known to them all as “grandad” The five grandchildren were Danielle (who has three children of her own), her sister Shannon and Daniel. In addition, Danielle’s aunt, Adele has two children, Oscar and Logan whom Phil also counted as grandchildren. Logan is named after Phil.
Phil also spent a lot of time helping to look after the grandchildren. There was one grandson in particular who he looked after once every two weeks. He would take him out, for instance to parks and other places.
Phil worked as a bricklayer/builder. He had worked in the building trade all of his life; when he was very young he had worked as a hod carrier, before training as a bricklayer with his father.
Phil worked with a man called Eddie Ogilvy, whom he treated as a friend. Phil’s father had worked for Eddie in the past. Eddie was like a father to Phil and he placed a lot of trust in him. I understand that Phil and Eddie would normally make joint decisions about whether to accept a job and what estimate they should give to the customer. Each year, Eddie gave Phil a generous Christmas bonus and took him out for a Christmas meal. They did all kinds of work, from building garden walls and porches to working on loft extensions. They worked together for many years, and I know that Eddie felt Phil’s loss quite keenly.
Phil was a very energetic man, and he wasn’t happy unless he was doing something. He did a lot of jobs around the house. He had fitted the kitchen, fitted a new bathroom, built the garden walls in the back garden and installed a fishpond. He could turn his hand to most things. He did all the shopping. He dealt with the finances and it was he who paid the gas, electric and telephone bills.
Phil loved his work and he was a very fit man. I believe that he would have kept working as long as he possibly could and well beyond retirement age.
I understand that the accident happened near Sandilands tram stop on 9th November 2016. Phil used to catch the tram to work most days. He would catch the tram to Mitcham, where Eddie Ogilvy would pick him up before they drove to their first job of the day.
I was informed that Phil had suffered head and chest injuries and that he died immediately. I, Lisa and Adele had gone out of the house on that day. Phil had got on to the tram at four minutes to six, and the accident happened at around nine minutes past six. I learned of the crash from the news, and at that point I knew that Phil had died. I got a call from the liaison officer from British Transport Police to say that he was on his way to us on that day, and he did visit that evening, and in the following days. However it wasn’t until a week later that the Coroner officially released notification of Phil’s death. This was a horrible way to finally get confirmation of my husband’s death.
The effect on myself was absolutely devastating. In a way I am still in denial about the loss of my husband. All of my family were badly affected by the loss of a great husband and a kind man.
Read more: No one to blame. Or no one cares? Tram crash case dropped
Read more: TfL safety audit kept secret from crash investigators
Read more: Driver of crashed tram ‘too unwell’ to give evidence at inquest
Read more: TfL considered cancelling tram contract after 2016 crash
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