One of the last bastions of all male traditions in Britain fell this week when the first woman was appointed as a Yeoman Warder or Beefeater at the Tower of London. They’re the guys who wear the blue uniforms with red trim and the large ER and crown across their chests, they switch to red uniforms if the Queen is visiting the Tower.
The Yeoman Warders were established in 1485 as a bodyguard for Henry VIII and were also responsible for any prisoners locked up in the Tower. Nowadays they act as tour guides but had remained an all male unit since their formation.
To become a Beefeater who have to have been a senior NCO who’s served at least 22 years in the British military and have a good service record. There are 36 Warders and they live in apartments inside the Tower of London, if you walk around the eastern side of the Tower on Tower Bridge Approach road you’ll see all the washing lines hanging at the back of the apartments, which surprises a lot of visitors.
According to the press the Yeoman are not happy with a woman joining their ranks, she beat five men in a selection panel. There probably is a certain amount of political correctness in the decision but they really had little chance of keeping the Yeoman all male in today’s climate,
I just wonder if the lady warden will be conforming to the usual Beefeater look of fat belly and beard.
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