He cheated death by jumping out the window of a bus after it was struck by a train in a devastating crash which left 10 people dead.
Now, 70 years on, Sidney Logan from Forfar, who was then just 10, has spoken for the first time about the tragedy which cast a dark cloud over Angus, and the psychological impact he suffered from witnessing the horrific death of victims.
Mr Logan was sitting beside the driver on a kitchen chair in a bus carrying day trippers which careered out of control on to a level crossing near Kirriemuir.
“It all seemed to happen in slow motion,” said Mr Logan, who was on the bus with his father, mother and sister.
“The bus driver was trying to brake but nothing happened and we burst through the wooden gate and got stuck across the track.
“At that point people started to realise the train wasn’t going to stop in time – then the train struck the bus.
“I’ll never forget it – the front window popped out on impact and I clambered out onto the embankment while we were being pushed along the track.
“I turned back and saw the train still pushing the bus down the rails.
“The bus was disintegrating into pieces as it went.”
His father managed to pull a door open and got out with Mr Logan’s mother and sister.
Mr Logan found his mother and sister lying down on a grassy slope before going to look for his father.
He ran up to the wreckage and saw his father under the train giving brandy to the injured and dying.
“The first person I saw was a decapitated woman,” said Mr Logan.
“My dad told me to go back.
“What happened affected me for years after.
“I would always get a queer feeling when I passed the site.”
Ironically Mr Logan lives just 100 yards from where the bus depot used to be.
“It never leaves you,” he said.
“I’ve told my family what happened but until now I’ve never spoken publicly.”
Mr Logan, who has four children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, got in touch with The Courier after reading our story about the anniversary of the crash.
Seven people were killed instantly in the collision and 17 others were injured.
Three of them died later in hospital, taking the death toll to 10.
The dead included a married couple and two spinster sisters.
The injured included two seven-year-olds and Mr Logan.
A young couple who were injured had been married only three weeks before, and were on the outing with the bride’s parents, who were the couple who died.
