William Yolland

William Yolland (born 17 March 1810 in Plympton St Mary, Devon – died 5 September 1885 in Atherstone, Warwickshire), an English military surveyor, astronomer and engineer, was Britain’s Chief Inspector of Railways from 1877 until his death. He was a redoubtable campaigner for railway safety, often in the face of strong opposition, at a time when railway investment was being directed towards the expansion of the networks rather than the prevention of accidents. He was a member of the three-man committee of inquiry into the Tay Bridge disaster.Vetch (2004)]

Career

Yolland was the son of the Agent (property manager) to Lord Morley, Plymouth, and his father promoted the boy’s interest in surveying and land management by enrolling him at a school specialising in mathematics. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1828 and completed his technical training at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham, Kent, in 1831. After service in Britain, Ireland and Canada he was posted to the Ordnance Survey in 1838. He made such a strong impression there, particularly with his mathematical knowledge and publications on astronomy, [cite journal|date=1886|title=Obituary|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|publisher=Royal Astronomical Society|location=London|volume=46|pages=p202] that in 1846 he was nominated to head the organisation by its departing Superintendent, General Thomas Colby. He was, however, thought too young for the post and an older officer (who had no survey experience) was appointed instead. This new Superintendent, Colonel Lewis Hall, despatched Yolland to Ireland to avoid his embarrassment in commanding a more qualified officer, but the survey there was of greater importance than Hall had realised: Parliament had noticed that revenue was being lost as land assessments for tax were not up to date and Yolland’s progress there was followed with interest. In 1849 he was called to appear before a parliamentary select committee to explain how his method of mapping settlements in Ireland could be applied in England, as more detailed town maps were urgently needed to assist in the planned reforms of town sanitation. On his return to England he was placed in charge of the Ordnance Survey’s new offices in Southampton. The interest in Yolland’s work in Ireland survives to this day: as a young man he appears as a leading character in "Translations", a modern play set in nineteenth century Co Donegal.cite journal
last = Bullock
first = Kurt
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Possessing Wor(l)ds:Brian Friel’s Translations and the Ordnance Survey
journal = New Hibernia Review
volume = 4
issue =2
pages =
publisher =
location = St Pauls, MN
date = 2000
url =
doi =
id = ISSN 1092-3977
accessdate = ] The account of Yolland in Brian Friel's play is fictionalized, however, as he is called George Yolland and is presumed dead at the play's end. General Colby appears as "Captain Lancey".

When Colonel Hall retired in 1854 it was expected that, at the second opportunity, Yolland would be offered the Superintendent’s post. However Hall, who had continued to resent his subordinate’s abilities, succeeded in blocking the appointment. Yolland left the Ordnance Survey immediately afterwards.

The Railway Inspectorate of the Board of Trade was invariably staffed from the Royal Engineers and Yolland, although still an army officer (by then a major) had no difficulty in securing a post with that organisation. Additionally, he was appointed to a commission to report on the best methods of scientific and technical training for military officers. His findings were accepted and his report was still influencing the training of military engineers (in Britain and the United States) at the end of the twentieth century. [cite conference
first =Richard A
last =Preston
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Perspectives in the History of Military Education and Professionalism
booktitle =US Air Force Harmon Memorial Lecture
pages =
publisher =
date =1980
location =
url =http://www.usafa.af.mil/df/dfh/docs/Harmon22.doc.
doi =
id =
accessdate =2007-01-09]

Yolland retired from the army in 1863, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, although he retained his position with the Railway Inspectorate. At a time when Britain’s railway mileage was expanding at a great rate, his duties included the inspection of new lines and he took full opportunity to insist that the latest safety features, such as signal interlocking and block working, should be deployed. [cite book|last=Gordon|first=William John |title=Our Home Railways|publisher=Frederick Warne and Co|location=London|date=1910|volume=1|pages=p198|chapter=Interlocking Signals] His campaign for continuous automatic brakes was initially less successful. [cite book
last =Nock
first =Oliver
authorlink =O.S. Nock
coauthors =
title =The Railway Engineers
publisher =B.T.Batsford Ltd
date =1955
location =London
pages =p239
url =
doi =
id = ] At that time the Inspectorate had no statutory powers with regard to existing lines; all too frequently Yolland found himself reporting, in his characteristic rigorous manner, the organisational failures and neglect that had lead to serious accidents. In 1877 he was appointed HM Chief Railway Inspector.

Honours and Awards

*Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society 1840
*Fellow of the Royal Society 1859
*Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts 1860
*Companion of the Bath 1881

Notes

References

*Owen, Tim and Pilbeam, Elaine (1992): "Ordnance Survey". Ordnance Survey, Southampton, England.
*Simmons, Jack and Biddle, Gordon (1997): "The Oxford Companion to British Railway History". Oxford University Press.
*Vetch, RH, revised Matthew, CG (2004): "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography." Oxford University Press.
*cite web
last =Yolland
first =William
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Shipton-on-Cherwell Railway Accident, 24th December 1874
work =
publisher =HMSO
date = April 1875
url =http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BoT_Shipton1874.pdf
format =
doi =
accessdate = Example accident report by William Yolland, from [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/ "The Railways Archive"] .