David Dale Logan (20 August 1879 – 16 November 1956) was a distinguished Scottish physician, soldier and medical author. He was an expert on gas warfare, and, as an odd attachment to a medical training, was an expert mining engineer.

Biography

He was born in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

on the north-east Scottish coast on 20 August 1879. He was educated at Arbroath High School. He studied medicine at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

graduating MB ChB in 1900. He then set up as a

General Practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

(GP) in

Newmains Newmains is a village and former mining community on the eastern edge of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south-east of Glasgow. Although it is considered by the local authority to have a town centre in its own right. History The story of ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

. He received his doctorate in 1906 and a Diploma in Public Health in 1910. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served with distinction in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was official Gas Warfare advisor to the British 2nd Army from 1915 and Engineer-in-Chief at GHQ from 1917. He won the DSO and was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he acted as a military advisor, and also served in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

, and was a appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the military division in 1944, in recognition of meritorious service in the Home Guard. In 1945 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Sir John Fraser, Sir Andrew Davidson, Sir Sydney Smith, and John M. Johnston. He died on 16 November 1956 in

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

aged 77.

Publications

*''Gas Poisoning in Mining and Other Industries'' (1914) co-written with Dr John Glaister (1856-1932)''Mortality from Respiratory Diseases in Dusty Trades'', F L Hoffman *''Detonation of High Explosive in Shell and Bomb and Its Effects'' (1939)

Family

He was married to Janet Galloway Russell (d.1955), daughter of Hugh Scott Russell, in

Cambusnethan Cambusnethan is a historic parish in North Lanarkshire in Scotland. The largest settlement in the parish is Wishaw, and Cambusnethan now appears on maps as a village almost contiguous with Wishaw. The village is approximately long, straddling ...

in 1917, whilst on leave from the army.

References

1879 births 1956 deaths People from Arbroath Alumni of the University of Glasgow 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Royal Army Medical Corps officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I Scottish mining engineers British Home Guard officers {{UK-engineer-stub