Logan Family History

A short talk on The Logan Family of Upton - by Colin Foden, 18 July 2108

On receiving copies of the Memorial of 1889, I went straight to a reputable Genealogy site and fed in the signatures of the great and good people of Upton.

This proved quite successful in finding the addresses and occupations of the most of signatories.

But there was one name on the list which rang a loud bell, that name was Balfour Logan - where had I seen that name before? A couple of weeks of racking my brains went by but to no avail.

Now bear with me just for a moment. For my sins, you might say, literally speaking, I am Church Warden at Holy Ascension Church in Upton Lane. One Sunday in four, I play drums in the Church music group. One Sunday about four months ago, I was just finishing 'What a friend we have in Jesus' with a flourish on the crash cymbal when I looked to my right and there he was, Balfour Logan, yes - bold as brass - well bold in brass, actually, - on a plaque, on the church wall. Well I kept my head down, skipping the ensuing prayers and quietly slid from the drum kit to the end of the front pew to read:

"In Memory of Balfour Logan, Lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment 2nd son of Edward and Emily Logan of Upton Lawn. Served in the Burmese Campaign 1891-1892. And in the Indian Frontier War with Distinction. Died at Nowsheba January 1st 1898 aged 29 years, Beloved by all that knew him."

I have a picture of Upton Lawn, now demolished, which was on the junction of Smoke Street (now Upton Lane) and Church Lane

I understand there will be speakers following me who might refer to the Logan family and it is hoped that our facts match. I will tell you what I 'acquired' with an acknowledgement to both The Upton and Christleton History Societies.

Balfour's father Edward had been a prosperous merchant dealing in copper in Chile, South America. Indeed, his first son Edward Townsend Logan (more later) was born to Edward and his wife Emily in Valparaiso in 1865 and later continued in the copper merchant role. The family returned to Wirral where Balfour was Christened at Hoylake in 1868.

From there the family moved to Upton Lawn and it was there Roland Octavius Logan was born in 1882.

It is here that once again we turn again from the ‘Memorial’ to the War Memorial.

We already know of Balfour's demise in India.

Edward Townsend Logan, now living at Ashfield Hall in Neston, joined the Cheshire Regiment in 1888. He served later in the Boer War and was awarded the DSO. He then joined The South African Police force.

He rejoined the army on the outbreak of the war when as Lieutenant Colonel he Commanded the 3rd battalion of the Cheshires at Birkenhead. He was then posted to command the 15th Durham Light Infantry before being sent to France. He was twice mentioned in dispatches and awarded the DSO, Queen’s medal and King’s medal before being killed in action at Sailley at the battle of Loos on 26th September 1915 aged 49. Two memorial services were held one at St. James Church Christleton (Christleton Bank being his address at his time of death) and one in the Cheshire Regiment Chapel at the Cathedral. He is mentioned on the war memorials at both Christleton and Upton, and there is a memorial window to him in Chester Cathedral.

Edward's brother, Roland Octavius Logan born in Upton in 1882 became a career soldier rising to Captain. He served in the Boer War winning the Queen’s Medal and also in India (where, as I discovered, his brother Balfour was killed). He then fought in the first world war where he was killed in action at Ypres and is buried in an unmarked grave near the Menin Rouliers Road.

At the time of his death Roland's address was in Baschurch, Shropshire, a property belonging to his brother, Crawford Clegg Logan (christened in Thurstaston 1870). Crawford was a ranchman in America but returned home in 1916 to settle his brother’s estate valued then at $35,000 dollars. Crawford Logan then enlisted in the American Army.

As a postscript to the Upton Lawn story, the property was subsequently sold to Mr J Meadows Frost, who later became Sir John Frost, Mayor of Chester 1913-1919. Sadly, his son, Thomas Laurence Frost, another career soldier, commissioned in 1911 was shot by a sniper in the front-line trench in March 1915 in the run up to the second Battle of Ypres.

Incidentally, I read that the Frosts are direct descendants of the Original Miller of Dee about whom several versions of a song were published.

In 1885 in memory of her husband and her three sons, Emily Logan gave the stained-glass East window in Upton Church and in 1889 the same lady laid the foundation stone for the new vicarage in Demage Lane.