It took Moira 1,000 years to crack Tower's 'all male' code

06 September 2007

Moira joins the 'beefeater' ranks

By Michael Parker

THE Tower of London has broken with 1,000 years of male tradition... by appointing its first-ever woman guard.

Moira Cameron wore a broad smile with her new navy and red uniform this week when she took up her post as The Tower's only female Yeoman warder.

Yeomanry, more popularly known as 'beefeaters', first appeared at The Tower five centuries ago. But none have ever been women!

Now 42-year-old Moira has broken the mould and joined their ranks.

After 22 years in the Army, she was used to stiff, scratchy uniforms.

"But the hat is much nicer," she joked. "Blue suits me so much better than 'Army' green."

Moira now lives in her own flat inside The Tower walls, just a rock's throw from the Crown Jewels and with a view overlooking Tower Bridge.

"I've spent much of my life living in barracks," she recalls. "So having a flat to myself with its own kitchen and bathroom is fantastic."

Moira, originally from the Scottish countryside, is settling into life in London.

"It's like a little village, really," she says, "a bit like the village where I grew up."

Her duties are maintaining security and being a tourist guide at Britain's most popular historic site... quite a change from her previous post as warrant officer in the Adjutant General's Corp.