The Yoemam Warders of the Tower of London and Her Magesty’s Royal Palace, popularly known as Beefesters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. All warders are retired from the Armed Forces of Commonwealth Relms and must be former warrant officers with at least 22 years of service. They must also hold the Ling Service and Good Conduct medal. This group was formed in 1485 by King Henry VII, the first monarch of the current Tudor dynasty.

One Yoeman is the Ravenmaster. Legend maintains that should the ravens ever leave the Tower, the White Tower (former Royal Residence) will fall and disaster will befall the kingdom. Further according to legend, King Charles II believed. When his astronomical observer complained that the ravens interfered with his observatory work, he initially ordered them destroyed, but reminded of the legend, he instead relocated the observatory to Greenwich. He decreed that at least 6 ravens must always remain at the tower. There are captive ravens there now while many still freely fly around in the Tower area. I did not take picture of the cages…. though they are spacious, it just didn’t seem right to me to have those ravens inside watching the others fly free. However, I have since read that the Ravens in the cages are released each day at dawn as the Ravenmaster prepares their breakfast so life ain’t so bad for them after all. That would also be why we only saw 2 in the cages instead of 6…. they must have come home for a rest….lol

This is our Yoeman. He pointed out what it takes to gain the honor of being a Yoeman and wanted us to know that what he us wearing is a uniform not a costume. He is very proud of his 33 years military experience and his position as a Yoeman Warder.