Holloway Goods Yard: 1910 - Reproduced With permission from National Library of Scotland
Several times a week I travel by train into King’s Cross Station. In doing so I pass by the site of the former Holloway Goods Yard. Nothing is left of this sprawling set of railway sidings that ran north from the Caledonian Road area up to Finsbury Park Station, including the area now occupied by a large football stadium. I recall the last remains of this complex was a set of sidings known as Clarence Yard (now occupied by houses and flats). Occasionally we would be called there to reports of theft or criminal damage, although it was largely derelict.
In the early 1990s when I was working on the first draft of the British Transport Police Roll of Honour for the BTP History Society (the forerunner of the modern BTP History Group) I became aware that an officer had been killed in an accident at Holloway Goods, probably near Finsbury Park Station. At the time all research was conducted manually with no on line resources. By visiting the Newspaper Library at Colindale I was able to dig out the basic details of what, was a tragic accident – the like of which has killed and injured many railway police over the last 200 years. Recently I thought I would use the modern research tools to find out more about the officer and the incident. I was to be largely disappointed. In an era where accidents at work were common it seems that few records were created to mark the death of a single police officer in a simple accident.
On 6th September 1901 Pc 126 William YELLOP of the Great Northern Railway Police was found unconscious on the tracks at Holloway Goods Yard near Finsbury Park. His injuries suggested that he had suffered a blow to the head from a passing train. He was found by Frank ELLIS, a railway shunter who knew the officer. They were both based at the Holloway Goods Station which was located on the south side of Holloway Road. He had last seen Pc YELLOP on Friday afternoon and he found him later the same evening. He was taken to the Royal Free Hospital (1) where he was found to have extensive injuries to his face. He died a couple of hours after admission (7th September).
An inquest was held into his death on Tuesday10th September 1901 at St Pancras Coroner’s Court. The building is a rare example of a Victorian purpose built Coroners Court. At the time nearly all inquests were held in local pubs. The court is still in use and many BTP officers will have given evidence there over the years. I certainly recall being a regular occupant of the witness box giving evidence to Dr CHAMBERS the coroner. It is a gloomy building, as befits its purpose.
The inquest on Pc YELLOP was held by a major figure in coronial history; George Danford THOMAS. It was a brief affair. Unfortunately the records of inquests from St Pancras for this period have not survived. Normally in these circumstances we can rely on detailed newspaper reports but in this case I have only found one brief news item. It appears that the Coroner only called ELLIS and the doctor from the hospital as witnesses. The medical witness was Dr Louisa WOODCOCK (2) who reported that the unfortunate victim did not regain consciousness.
We don’t know much about William Haze YELLOP (his middle name comes from his Mother’s family). He was born in Norfolk to a large family. His Father took his own life and several of his relatives were troubled by nervous illnesses.
He left Norfolk to join the Highland Light Infantry (which regularly recruited in East Anglia) in 1893, having previously served in the Norfolk Militia. Most of his army service was overseas and included a period in Ceylon as well as a long stretch on the North West Frontier where he was involved in the Malakand campaign and in the capture of the Tanga Pass (in what is now Pakistan). His army records describe him as 5’9” with grey eyes and brown hair. He was a single man.
He continued in the army until 22 September 1900 when he was discharged as “medically unfit for further service”. The nature of his ill health is not described. His character was described as ‘Very Good, Sober, Steady. (3)
At the time of his death YELLOP was living in Edward Square, Caledonian Road, near King’s Cross. We do not know when he joined the GNR Police as unfortunately many GNR records were destroyed by enemy action in 1941 when a bomb struck King’s Cross Station. I have not been able to definitively identify him in the 1901 census. The Norfolk address given for him in his army records was out of date by the time the census was taken in March 1901 and at that time he was not living in Edward Square. All we can say is that he must have joined the police between September 1900 and September 1901.
The area containing Common Graves in Islington Cemetery Finchley,including the last resting place of Pc YELLOP
He was buried in a common grave(4) at Islington Cemetery East Finchley on 11th September 1901 (5). On a cold February day I visited the site of his grave which is unmarked. I was able to reflect on what a dangerous job being a railway policeman was.
One accidental death in a busy metropolis did not make much of a mark on history. But William YELLOP who died in the execution of his duty as a railway constable will not be forgotten as his name appears on the Roll of Honour maintained by the British Transport Police History Group. Moreover I will remember him when I look up on my journey between Finsbury Park and King’s Cross.
Lest We Forget
Philip Trendall
February 2026
I am pleased to record, with my deepest thanks, the help given to me, in researching this man, by the Great Northern Railway Society.
Notes
(1) The Royal Free Hospital was, in 1901, based in Grays Inn Road near King’s Cross Station. It is not known why YELLOP was not taken to another hospital – a possibility is that the Royal Free, as it name suggests, did not charge for treatment.
(2) Dr WOODCOCK MD MA(Trinty) BS (Lond) was of the first generation of female doctors. She died in 1917 of pneumonia whilst working at the military hospital in Endell Street London.
(3) His army record is available from the National Archives or from the commercial genealogical sites such as Ancestry and Fold Three. His date of birth and description of his nok match with what we know of Pc YELLOP. Downloaded from Ancesty.co.uk (09/02/2026)
(4) Ie a grave in which unrelated people were interred on payment of a reduced fee – such a burial was not necessarily a ‘pauper’ burial but the records do not show who paid for the burial.
(5) London Borough of Islington : Islington Cemetery – Burial 11 September 1901. Grave P/3/18251
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