Yeoman Tower of London

September 6, 2021
London Tower

The Tower of London welcomes two new recruits to its Yeoman body – Gary Thynne and Spike Abbott. They take up the iconic role, descended from the ancient band of warders who guarded the gates and royal prisoners early in the Tower’s history. Modern Yeoman Warders are still Extraordinary Members of the Queen’s Bodyguard and are all former warrant officers from Her Majesty’s Forces with an honourable service record of at least 22 years. Today they combine their traditional ceremonial role with a love of history to make the past come to life for visitors.

Gary Thynne (left) joins after 23 years of distinguished service in the Army. YW Thynne was born in Plymouth. Before joining the Tower of London, he served with the Royal Artillery in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Iraq, Afghanistan and former Yugoslavia amongst others. He also served with the Metropolitan Police before starting at the Tower of London.

“Being a Yeoman Warder is my dream job and waking up on my birthday at the Tower of London to start my first day here was incredible. Looking over the river to see the Shard and HMS Belfast from a window at the Tower – there’s nothing quite like it!”

Spike Abbott (right) takes up the iconic role after 35 years of distinguished service in the Royal Air Force. YW Abbott was born in Cyprus where his father also served in the RAF. Before joining the Tower of London, YW Abbott was stationed in RAF Brize Norton, RAF Lyneham and RAF Abingdon. He served as an Air Load Master and is the second Master Aircrew to obtain the position of Yeoman Warder.

“I heard about the position of Yeoman Warder around eight years ago and have been visiting the Tower ever since to find out more about the history of the Tower of London and the role of Yeoman Warder. I really enjoy meeting people from all walks of life and all over the world that come to visit the Tower.”

YW Abbott and YW Thynne join 35 other Yeoman Warders who are descended from the ancient band of warders who guarded the gates and royal prisoners, early in the Tower’s history. Modern Yeoman Warders are still Extraordinary Members of the Queen’s Bodyguard and are all former warrant officers from Her Majesty’s Forces with an honourable service record of at least 22 years. Today they combine their traditional ceremonial role with a love of history to make the past come to life for visitors.

Both Yeoman Warders are learning word-for-word the Story – the script of the famous Yeoman Warder Tour – before leading a tour themselves. They will also become familiar with each of the 21 separate duties that the Yeoman Warders conduct each day.

Source: blog.hrp.org.uk

Video on topic: Yeoman Tower of London

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