First Woman Beefeater Begins Guarding Tower of London

To most, Beefeater is a rather acceptable brand of gin, but the soldier in the Tudor costume on the label is really a member of the British military. The bodyguards of Henry VII today guard the Tower of London as an elite group from the Royal Armed Forces. Today, for the first time, a woman has joined the Yeoman Warders, as the Beefeaters are officially known.

Moira Cameron, a 42-year-old Warrant Officer Class 2, joined up in June 1985, and after 22 years of impeccable service, she won a place at the Tower. The post is largely ceremonial, and the main duty is to dress in the uniform and guide the 2 million visitors to the Tower through it. She told journalists on her first day, “This place is magical. It's just a wonderful job and I'm very, very lucky to have it. You wake up in the morning and you know you're going to have a good day.”

Candidates must have been a warrant officer or senior noncommissioned officer, have served at least 22 years in the Royal Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Marines and hold the Long Service and Good Conduct medal. Since women didn’t serve until recently, there was never an opportunity for a woman to join the ranks at the Tower.

Of course, there were concerns about a women entering into what had been a male fraternity for the past 522 years. Chief Yeoman Warder John Keohane said, “She’s been here for two months and been accepted by the community. Life is moving on here at the Tower.”

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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