Cardiff man selected as Tower of London Beefeater

Andy Harris, from Cardiff, served in the Royal Air Force for 36 years

A former RAF Warrant Officer from Cardiff has been selected as a Yeoman Warder (YW) at the Tower of London.

Andy Harris served in the RAF for more than 36 years, during which time he was deployed for tours to Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Cyprus.

Nicknamed Beefeaters, it is a position introduced by Henry VII in 1485 to help guard the fortress and YW Harris is thought to be the first Welsh Beefeater in more than a decade.

YW Harris described his appointment as an immense honour, and said he was "extremely proud to represent Wales".

As one of 35 who live and work at the tower, YW Harris said he has enjoyed settling into his "quirky new home within the tower's vibrant community".

He said he left Cardiff in 1988 and has worked at stations all over the UK with the RAF, but it means an "awful lot" to him to be able to represent the national heritage.

"At the end of my career it's great to be allowed to continue the historical elements of service life," he said.

Describing what it was like to put on the uniform, YW Harris said you just "cannot imagine" the feeling.

"It was immense" he said, adding it was "such an immensely proud moment".

YW Harris, seen here in the daily blue and red YW uniform, said he the next few months would be "incredibly exciting"

"I have a lot to learn and will be focused on learning the tower's history and legends before I am ready to share these with our visitors, so the next few months are going to be incredibly exciting."

Part of the criteria for becoming a YW is a minimum of 22 years' service with the military, to hold the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, and to have reached the rank of warrant officer or equivalent, before being selected for interview.

Over the coming months, YW Harris will learn "the story" – the script of the famous Yeoman Warder tour, in verbatim, before he can lead his own tours of the Tower of London.

He will also be required to learn the 21 separate duties conducted by the Yeoman Body each day, including the Ceremony of the Keys, a closing ceremony that has taken place every single night for at least 700 years.

A devoted sportsman, YW Harris is known to be a supporter of Welsh rugby, Cardiff City FC, and the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey club, having coached the RAF Ice Hockey team to four successive inter-service championships during his previous career.