Moira in Tower Hamlets is 41-50 and is Yeoman Warder / Beefeater.
In 2007, after 22 years of service in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, Moira Cameron became the first female Yeoman Warder in over 500 years of the institution’s history. Whilst her roles include guarding the Crown Jewels it is clear that Moira’s true passion is the Tower community itself; from the families that live within it’s walls to the joy of guiding tourists around as they discover this significant part of London.
Having never served in London before this posting, Moira had always dreamed of a position in the capital. Yet it wasn’t until she saw a listing in The Soldier magazine that the thought of working within the Tower occurred to her as a possibility. Her full title is now “Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign’s Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard in the Extraordinary” and she is a London landmark in her own right.
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Questions & Answers
- What's your first memory of London? My first memory of London was the height and beauty of the buildings and the Post Office Tower. I had seen it on TV but it was seeing it in real life that was amazing.
- What do you miss when you're away from London? What I miss most when I am away from London is the convenience of living in a City that has practically everything you need within such a short distance.
- What's your favourite neighbourhood? My favourite neighbourhood is St Katherine's Dock. It is a lovely place to sit with a coffee in the sun or to meet friends after work. There are a great choice of cafes and restaurants and its just next door.
- What's your favourite building? Favourite building is St Paul's Cathedral. It is so beautiful and peaceful and you can have afternoon tea with Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington what fabulous company.
- What's your ideal day out in London? My ideal day out would have to be breakfast at Borough Market then a bit of a trek round the markets in Camden and an afternoon walking back to the Tower along the canal or back along the river in the sun.
- What's your ideal night out in London? An ideal night out in this magnificent city would be the theatre followed by a late supper and a glass of something chilled with good friends.
- What's your most hated building? I can't really think of any buildings in London that I hate but I do think its very sad that more isn't being made of Battersea Power Station.
- What's the best view in London? The best view in London must be from the river. I took the cruise back from Hampton Court one day in the summer and it made me smile the whole journey.
- What's your favourite open space? My favourite open space is in Greenwich the view is so diverse.
- What's the most interesting shop? The most interesting shop I have been in is a difficult one as I am not a big shopper, only essentials and I really have to be in the mood. But I always find Spitalfields and some of the quirky gift shops there quite interesting. There are lots of unusual gifts.
- What's your favourite place to hang out? My favourite place to hang out is St Katherine's Dock I spend quite a bit of time there especially in the summer. The Tower is very busy and has lots of people moving around in and around it. In St Katherine's Dock I can sit in a quiet spot with a coffee and a book or just looking at the boats it's my chill out space and sometimes hard to believe you are in the City.
- What's been your most memorable night out in London? It's hard to choose my most memorable night out in London as I have been lucky enough to have had many but one that does stick in my mind was a Christmas outing on the Eye and being able to see the fair in Regents Park followed by a ride on the merry go round laughing our heads off and then a lovely dinner with friends.
- How would you like to spend your ideal day off in London? My ideal day off work is somewhere away from big crowds. Greenwich and the markets or the observatory is always a winner.
- Where would you take someone visiting from out of town? I think that everyone who visits London should do one of three things: afternoon tea at the Ritz, a walk down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace or a visit to the Tower.
- What's the worst journey you've had to make in London? The worst journey I have had to make was driving out to Buckinghamshire past Euston when there had been an oil spill at Marble Arch. 3 HOURS JUST TO GET OUT OF LONDON!
- What's your personal London landmark? My personal London landmark is the Tower. It is dwarfed by the Cities buildings but it still has presence and you can feel its power.
- Who's your favourite fictional Londoner? My favourite fictional Londoner is Arthur Daley. Highly likely based on fact it made me laugh.
- What's your favourite London film, book or documentary? My favourite London book, film or documentary is a hard one for me as there are so many and I am very bad at remembering names but anything that shows the beautiful buildings is a winner. The Olympic Games were jaw dropping as the atmosphere was electric.
- If you could travel to any time period in London, past or future, where would you go? If I could travel to any point of time I would go into the future by 1000 years and see if the White Tower still stands.
- For you, who is the ultimate Londoner? My ultimate Londoner is the Boss. (Think about it?)