Quietly two months ago history was made in London as Moira Cameron of Argyll, Scotland, who at age 42 and a warrant officer 2 in the British military became the first female Yeoman Warder aka Beefeater to be among the 35-man (along with a Chief Yeoman Warder and a Chief Yeoman Gaoler - 'jailer'), unit guarding the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.
Established in 1485 to guard the treasures of the Crown and the family of the Crown and quickly thereafter assigned to guard prisoners of the Crown in the Tower this elite corps has been an all male affair and even still was after Moira Cameron's appointment for the last couple of months because her turn on the active duty roster did not come until September 1st of this year.
Today's Beefeaters main function (outside of guarding the Crown Jewels), is to guide tourists and to patiently pose smiling for pictures. Unlike the guards at Buckingham Palace they are allowed to move and speak, and are quite jovial about their jobs. However I for one would not care to be on the receiving end of their non-jovial side should one attempt any maliciousness at the Tower much less attempt any thievery.
And you can look to we Scots to pave the way into the future, remember t'was a Scottish lass what came to be the first woman Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London.
