Tom Trent

Military Service & Rank: 25 years in the Royal Corp of Signals

Yeoman at the Tower Since: 1986

Interests & Hobbies: Gardening, Fishing, Shooting, Golf, Beadle for an Alderman of the City of London

One thing for sure is that Tom Trent will never forget the date of his first day as a Yeoman Warder as it also happened to be the 450th anniversary of the execution of Anne Boleyn. On 19th May 1986 Tom became a member of the Body of Yeoman Warders and took up residency in the Tower of London. His introduction to the Tower happened long before that day though, as he explained.

"When I was in boy service as a young soldier a really old soldier taught me how to play hockey. He did a great job of it because I ended up playing in teams for the south of England and the army. Well, the first time I played in London he came along to see me and as it happened he turned out to be a Beefeater at the Tower of London. I was living in Dorset at that time so as you can imagine, after the match I had the problem of having to get to the station to catch the last train home. While everyone else was celebrating at the after-match party I was rushing around gathering my belongings but just as I was about to leave my friend from the Tower said that the next time I came to London he would put me up. A short while later when I did come back I took him up on his offer. Being a young soldier of about 18, staying in the Tower of London totally overawed me and the memory stuck with me all through my army years till eventually I ended up here myself".

So, with those lingering memorise of his stay in the tower many years before how does he feel that he himself is now part of the Tower of London. I asked him and this is what he told me. "Being here is much more than doing a job, it's a vocation. You have to have a feel for the place and of course you have to enjoy mixing and talking to people. I particularly like it when the children come over to me wanting to have their photo's taken. The way their eyes light up when we talk to them helps make this job very rewarding indeed and I have no regrets whatsoever at being here".

Apart from his function as a Yeoman Warder Tom Trent, being brought up on a farm is a keen gardener and looks after the plot outside the Yeoman Warders club. His farm upbringing is also prevalent through his other outdoor activities as he also occasionally goes fishing and shooting.

Another aspect of Tom's outside interests are that he is a Beadle for one of the Alderman of the City of London. Basically, the early origins of a Beadle are that while London had its own Lord -Mare, every ward had an Alderman and every Alderman had what was known as a Beadle. Even now, a Beadle traditionally dresses in the manner of a character from Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, wearing a tricorn hat, a long cloak and carrying a long mace. Originally, the mace was used as a weapon for protection of the Alderman but now, of course its function is mainly as a symbolic staff being a large crown on the end of a long golden pole. The duties performed by the Beadle are similar to those of a policeman in that he provides escort to the Alderman, protects him and opens and closes the meetings which he attends.