Ordnance Survey

After army service in Britain, Ireland and Canada he was posted to the Ordnance Survey in 1838. He made a strong impression there, particularly with his mathematical knowledge and publications on astronomy, and in 1846 he was nominated to head the organisation by its departing Superintendent, General Thomas Colby.^[2][3] He was, however, thought too young for the post and an older officer (a sapper who had no survey experience) was appointed instead.^[4] This new Superintendent, Colonel Lewis Hall, despatched Yolland back 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. The interest in Yolland's work in Ireland survives to this day: as a young man he appears as a leading character in Brian Friel's play Translations, a modern play set in nineteenth century Co. Donegal.^[5] The character of Yolland in Translations is fictionalised, however, as he is called George Yolland and is missing, possibly dead, at the play's end. General Colby appears as "Captain Lancey".^[5] Yolland's technical account of establishing a triangulation base near Lough Foyle (1827-9) was incorporated as the "geodesy" section of the Royal Military Academy's curriculum for the training of military engineers.^[6]

On his return to England he was placed in charge of the Ordnance Survey's new offices in Southampton, where he produced a set of maps of the City itself; in 1852, with Captain Tucker of the Royal Engineers, he completed a plan of the city of York.^[7]

In 1851, Yolland was appointed to one of the judging panels for The Great Exhibition, serving with Colonel Hall in the military engineering category.^[8]

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.^[3] Yolland left the Ordnance Survey immediately afterwards.^[9] 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.^[6] 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.^[10]

Railway Inspectorate

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.^[11][12] Yolland's campaign for continuous automatic brakes (he favoured the spring-and-ratchet system invented by James Newall) was initially less successful.^{[lower-alpha 1]} At that time the Inspectorate had no statutory powers with regard to existing lines;^{[lower-alpha 2]} all too frequently Yolland found himself reporting, in his characteristic rigorous manner, the organisational failures and neglect that had led to serious accidents.

In 1877 he was appointed HM Chief Railway Inspector in succession to Henry Whatley Tyler. He died on 4 September 1885 in Atherstone, Warwickshire.^[6][2]