Beefeater retires after 20 years
ONE of the world-famous Yeoman Warders - or ‘Beefeaters’ - has retired after 20 years at the Tower of London.
Yeoman Clerk Phil Wilson, 67, hung up his costume for the last time on Tuesday, February 28, but not before being awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in the Queen’s New Year’s honours for his years of service.
Phil was born in Loughborough General Hospital in Baxter Gate and attended Garendon High School before joining the Coldstream Guards as a boy tailor in 1965.
He served for the next 25 years, rising to the rank of Master Tailor (colour Sergeant).
After leaving the forces, Phil moved back to the Loughborough area where he worked at Quick Stitch and joined the Body of the Yeoman Warders in 1997 after hearing that they were recruiting on BBC Radio Leicester.
After three years he was promoted to Yeoman Serjeant in 2000 and he was pro- moted again in 2013 to Yeoman Clerk.
Phil, who is now retiring to Sileby, told the Echo: “I joined the Coldstream Guards as a boy tailor and I was probably the last one to do so.
“I was responsible for all the ceremonial uniform fittings and alterations and I joined the battalion in various locations including Norway, Denmark, Berlin and Northern Ireland.
“After the army I lived in East Leake and worked in Loughborough and one morning I was listening to the radio and I said they were recruiting at the Tower of London.
“I applied and the rest, as they say, is history.”
During his time as a Yeoman Clerk, Phil represented the Tower in many different countries including the United States of America and the Arab Emirates and had official photographs taken with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on no less than three occasions.
A highlight of his time at the Tower of London would be the first time he performed the Ceremony of the Keys - an experience he says he will never forget!