William Yolland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Yolland (1810–1885), 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.

[edit] Career

Yolland was the son of a land agent and his father promoted the boy’s interest in land surveying 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, Chatham, 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, 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.[1] 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".[1]

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 technological 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.[2]

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. His campaign for continuous automatic brakes was initially less successful.[3] 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.

[edit] Honours and Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Bullock, Kurt. Possessing Wor(l)ds: Nationalist Ontology and Imperialist Epistemology in Brian Friel’s Translations. Ball State University, Muncie IN. Retrieved on April 3, 2007.
  2. ^ Preston, Richard A (1980). "Perspectives in the History of Military Education and Professionalism". US Air Force Harmon Memorial Lecture. Retrieved on 2007-01-09. 
  3. ^ Nock, Oliver (1955). The Railway Engineers. London: B.T.Batsford Ltd, 239. 
  • Owen, Tim and Pilbeam, Elaine (1992): Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey, Southampton, England.
  • Vetch, RH, revised Matthew, CG (2004): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
  • Simmons, Jack and Biddle, Gordon (1997): The Oxford Companion to British Railway History. Oxford University Press.
  • Yolland, William (April 1875). Shipton-on-Cherwell Railway Accident, 24th December 1874. HMSO. Example accident report by William Yolland, from The Railways Archive.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../w/i/l/William_Yolland_3f1b.html"