What it's like to be a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London

One of the Tower of London's newest Yeoman Warders has said he's "still pinching himself" that he got the job.

Ryan 'Barney' Barnett, from Yeovil, Somerset, is the first Royal Navy Aircraft Officer to take up the historic position.

YW Barnett said he had wanted to be a Yeoman Warder — nicknamed Beefeaters — ever since he was a little boy.

"I just loved seeing the Beefeaters, and it was always a dream of mine to be one, one day, and then this opportunity came up and I couldn't say no," he said.

He has recently moved to London to take up the role and has just started six months of training.

To complete his training, he has to learn the 21 separate duties conducted by the Yeoman Warders each day.

These include the Ceremony of the Keys and the ancient closing ceremony, a tradition that has taken place every single night for at least 700 years.

As well as this, he has to learn the 'Story' — the script of the famous Yeoman Warder Tour — so he can lead his own tours.

"It's quite hard, but then 1000 years of history and you need to learn it verbatim. It would be quite hard," YW Barnett said.

"At the moment, I like being posted in the Chapel because it's nice and quiet, and then I can go over the 'Story' in my head while people are walking around and paying their respects."

YW Barnett currently gets up at 6:30am every day, and completes two hours of training in addition to working from 9am until 6pm in the Tower.

He added: "We have to press our uniform every day so there are no wrinkles in it, and your shoes have to be polished."

To be a Beefeater, you must have served for 22 years in the armed forces, reached the rank of Warrant Officer, and have been awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct medal.

Applicants must also go through a rigorous selection process lasting two days, including interviews, presentations and teamwork exercises.

YW Barnett joined the Navy at age 18 and served for nearly 26 years in the Royal Navy within the Fleet Air Arm as an Aircraft Engineer.

He said he was prompted to apply for the job after being sent a link to the job advert online by a friend.

"I didn't know how to even begin to apply for the job," he added.

The role of the Beefeater was created in 1485 by Henry VII. Its origins can be traced back to the band of warders who guarded the Tower of London and its prisoners from the reign of William the Conqueror.

YW Lisa Garland, from West Yorkshire, who served for 22 years as an Air Traffic Controller in the Royal Air Force has also been appointed to the role.

The pair have joined the 33 other Beefeaters who currently live and work in the tower.

"The best bit for me is interacting with the public," YW Barnett said.

"You get people from all over the world coming to the Tower to ask you cool questions. Just talking to them and making sure they have a good day, that's the best part for me," he added.