'No one is going to clip my wings anymore', says Moira Cameron, first ever female beefeater at Tower of London
In our fifth feature of Inspirational Women, we talk to the first women beefeater at the Tower of London, Moira Cameron.
At 20 years old and after seeing her brother in the army, Moira Cameron decided this was the career path she was going to take.
What she thought would be something she would do for three or four years turned into a 22-year career – and one which saw her make history as the first female beefeater at the Tower of London.
Sadly, Moira’s time in the role came with lows as well as highs, as she faced extensive bullying at the hands of her male peers.
It was as she was approaching her 22nd year in the army that she came across an article on beefeaters at the Tower of London.
One line that stuck out to her was “it’s not just a job for the boys”.
“I thought it [the job] was just a closed door”, said Moira.
She added: “Anyways, I read it and phoned up the HR manager and was on the phone to them for 45 minutes.
“As we were chatting away they said they hadn’t recruited a female before and asked if I would be interested. I thought, wow, this is fantastic!”
When she was offered the job she found it “strange” and “didn’t comprehend how big a deal this was going to be”, she added.
Moira officially became the first female beefeater in the tower’s history in 2007.
She was “unveiled” to the public, with the world’s press there to capture the moment the first ever female beefeater would grace the grounds of the Tower of London.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life”, said Moira.
Moira spent 15 years there until she retired from the position in November 2022.
Over the years, she met a host of celebrities and notable figures.
One that stuck out with Moira was Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the United States.
Moira said: “It was very strange. Her mum was with her and she knew about me after reading about me.
"She asked me for a picture and I asked Michelle if it was OK and she said ‘she’s family’. It was really lovely.”
Moira found her time as a beefeater an “enlightening experience”, but being the only woman meant she had to try and “not act like one of the boys and celebrate the difference”, she said.
She added: “It was very tempting because I am a tomboy. I’m the one, if I was strong enough, I’d still be climbing trees even at 58.
“Also, coming into a job being taught by a man and realising I can’t do the job like that because I’m not a man.”
When she was interviewed for the job, she had to talk with the governor of the tower.
During their talk, the governor told Moira some of the other guards were “not very happy or keen” about having a female in their ranks.
Moira said: “I thought, I’d spent 22 years in the military and they’ve all been there themselves, it’s not going to be that difficult.
“I said [to the governor] I’ve been bullied by experts and he just looked at me and smiled.
"Again I had this complete non-comprehension of things.”
For 10 years Moira was the only woman beefeater, but since she has left there are now three others.
In November 2009 , two Yeoman Warders were dismissed after they were found guilty of gross misconduct for bullying Moira because she was a woman.
Three warders were also suspended, with one reinstated after a month-long investigation.
One of the three also received a police caution for defacing Moira’s Wikipedia biography.
She said: “I’ve not been allowed to talk about it and not encouraged really, which was a shame.
“I’m trying to understand it now and that’s why I want to do talks about things like this.”
Moira will be sharing about life in the Tower of London in a series of talks, with the first stop in Grantham on May 9 at the Guildhall Arts Centre, in St Peter’s Hill.
Grantham was chosen as a first location not only because it is the birthplace of the first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the first female policewoman, Edith Smith, but Moira owns a house in Skillington.
Moira first came across Skillington as it was where a friend , who lives in Colsterworth, has her hair cut.
After coming across places for sale she decided to buy a home in the village and it became her “little place of refuge”.
With these talks Moira is looking forward to sharing the “honesty that has been sticking with me for a long time”, she said.
As the first female beefeater, Moira also took part in the First Women photography exhibition, a collection of 100 portraits capturing women who were the first in their industry.
After taking part , Moira realised “ how underrepresented we are [women] are in all areas”.
She added: “It’s really strange because even when people go into industries with women in them, there’s still not that equality, there’s still not that even playing field.
“It’s not that it’s there and women don’t want it , because we’re desperately trying to obtain it.
“I don’t know if it’s a misogyny thing but there is definitely that something needs to be done.
“I think if you get women into these jobs, it stops the ‘all boys’ network and they start to think differently.
“There will always be men who are misogynists, but one thing women need to be very careful of is we’ve got to stop enabling it.
“ We have to start protecting our own species.
“To stop the misogyny we need to stop enabling it.”
From a woman who made history as the first in her industry and also faced obstacles because of her gender, Moira said “just be yourself”.
She added: “I’ve had to do a lot. My mental and physical health suffered at the tower and that’s the reason I left, but I’ve learnt a lot and done a lot of soul searching.
“I’ve had my wings clipped and have had to keep quiet about certain things.
“I now have my honesty and integrity, and no one is going to clip my wings anymore.”
