1. 12 The Docklands & East London Advertiser, Thursday February 9, 2012
Helper of Royals
is just as chuffed
over steam trains
John Keohane, Tower of London Chief Yeoman
It’s a Fact
In the early 1080s, William the Conqueror
began to build a massive stone tower at
the centre of his London fortress.
Through the centuries, successive
monarchs added to the fortifications.
Throughout its 900-year history it has
served as a fortress, palace and prison.
As late as the Second World War the
Tower was used to hold prisoners of war,
including Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess.
Legend says the kingdom and the Tower
will fall if the six resident ravens ever
leave the fortress.
The Tower receives 2.5 million visitors a
year, but only a small proportion are of
UK origin.
All residents of Tower Hamlets, adults
and children alike, are only charged £1
for entry to the Tower.
The Ceremony of the Keys is the oldest
ceremony in the world and people can
apply in writing to attend, with up to 18
visitors witnessing it every night.
The Tower is a charitable trust and
doesn’t receive any funding from the
government.
»He has been a Baby Beef,
a beard rebel, an aircraft-
man and a guide to the
Princes William and Harry
as well as their mother, Prin-
cess Diana. He has also es-
corted the Obamas and the
Putins to look at the Crown
Jewels.
And if that was not enough,
he also helps keep Thomas
the Tank Engine on track.
Now after 20 years of life
behind the ancient walls of
the Tower of London, Chief
Yeoman John Keohane is
hanging up his uniform and
ornate set of iron keys to all
the state rooms.
John, 62, has become the
longest-serving Chief Yeo-
man Warder at the Tower of
London, after leaving the
Royal Air Force to become a
Baby Beef, the most junior
recruit to the the Tower’s
world-famous Beefeaters.
Having spend 20 years at
the Tower, he is walking
away, giving up his Georgian
townhouse in the grounds
and heading for Devon with
his wife Ruth.
Devon is the county dear-
est to his heart, for it is the
home of the South Devon
Railway, where John plays
the Fat Controller at the an-
nual Thomas the Tank En-
gine convention.
National headlines
It is a role that brought
him into conflict with Tho-
mas fans and made national
headlines when he refused
to shave off his Beefeater’s
beard to play the character.
He eventually caved in and
had to take two weeks off for
the beard to grow back be-
fore returning to the Tower.
John was made a member
of the Royal Victorian Order
in the Queen’s New Year
Honours, and has escorted
Her Majesty on hundreds of
state occasions.
He says: “She is lovely. She
puts you at ease, and once
you have the formal intro-
duction out of the way, she
will just chat quite happily
with you. She asks how the
Tower is doing, but you only
get a few minutes with her
before she is moved on to
meet other people.”
He was also the first to
show Princes William and
Harry the Crown Jewels
when the Princess of Wales
took them there as children.
“Diana was every bit of a
mother,” John adds.
“She always wanted the
best for her boys. But she
was always friendly and it
was very easy to forget who
you were talking to.”
He has also met many
heads of state, from Barack
Obama to Vladimir Putin.
His home for the next cou-
ple of weeks will continue to
be one of four Georgian
townhouses, with two bed-
rooms and a cupboard, he
jokes, and no gardens but
rows of flowerpots.
The Beefeaters live in a
community with its own bar
– run by the Beefeater fami-
lies themselves – chapel, doc-
tor, gym, recreation grounds
and bowling club.
John says: “We are a very
close-knit team, and because
we all come from very simi-
lar military backgrounds,
we have a lot in common.
“We are no different to any
other village. You get on
with your neighbours, you
make friends, you have long-
term friends and some you
put up with.”
n John Keohane in the role of Thomas the Tank Engine’s Fat Controller on the South Devon Railway
n John has become the Tower’s longest-serving Chief Yeoman Warder
The head Beefeater talks about his job and retirement
by Else Kvist
else.kvist@archant.co.uk

2. 020 7790 6128OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK
8.30am to 6.30pm MONDAY TO FRIDAY
9.00pm to 2.00pm SATURDAY
MOT £35
WITH THIS ADVERT
FREE BODYWORK INSURANCE ESTIMATE
WORK CARRIED OUT ON:
MOST MAKES OFVEHICLES
10% DISCOUNT OFF LABOURWITHTHISADVERT
VEHICLE
TESTING
STATION
VEHICLE
TESTING
STATION
BANCROFT GARAGE LTD
193 Bancroft Road, London E1 4ET
www.bancroftgarage.co.uk
BRAKES
SERVICING
CLUTCHES
TIMING BELTS
SUSPENSIONS
HEAD GASKETS
GEAR BOXES
EXHAUSTS
BATTERIES
TYRES
BODYWORK
& SPRAYING
ENGINE DIAGNOSTICS AIR-CONDITIONING
info@bancroftgarage.co.uk
Thursday February 9, 2012, The Docklands & East London Advertiser 13
In the morning John steps out
of his blue front door and crosses
the Tower’s Inner Ward to reach
his office in the 12th-century
Byward Tower.
“The best part is not having
any travelling. I get up at seven,
have a shower and breakfast. At
quarter to eight I leave my house
and at five to eight I’m sat at my
desk.
“I oversee a body of 37 Yeoman
staff, 36 male and one female.
First I check we have the full
complement of staff. If we have
sickness we might need to move
people into different positions.
We have people responsible for
security and people giving guid-
ed tours.”
He also has responsibility for-
training Beefeaters and ensur-
ing they have the full uniform.
It takes four to six months to
train a Yeoman, he says. “The
history, what we call the Tower
story, is very taxing to learn.”
Throughout the day John
oversees four ceremonies – the
opening of the Tower, the cere-
mony of the word – a military
parade demonstrating to the
public that a military garrison
is based a the Tower, the closing
ceremony and the nightly cere-
mony of the Keys when the Tow-
er is locked up.
Ceremonial events
So what does he do when the
formalities are out of the way?
“I deal with all the paperwork
and emails and have various
meetings with stakeholders.
“I’m responsible to the head of
operations, Lt-Col John Brown,
for organising ceremonial events
such as the annual Ceremony of
the Constable Dues that has just
taken place.
“I also advise him on the Ol-
ympic Torch Relay, as the torch
will spend its first night at the
Tower, and the effects Games
Lanes will have on traffic around
here.”
In the evenings the Tower
hosts corporate events, which
John also oversees.
Throughout the year, he is re-
sponsible for occasions such as
at Easter and Christmas – with
state parades where Beefeaters
are dressed in their fine regalia
– and helps escort the Queen to
the Beefeaters’ chapel.
“It’s been a real privilege to be
part of this organisation and
help people change their percep-
tion of the Tower. I shall miss it,”
says John, who admits to being a
bit nervous about leaving the
Tower’s community behind.
For his retirement he has
bought a house in Paignton. As a
volunteer director of South Dev-
on Railways, this takes him
close to his fond hobby as the Fat
Controller.
John says: “My grandchildren
love finding photos of me as the
Fat Controller on Facebook. I
have a passion for the railways
and the Routemaster bus we
have down there, which I’ll drive
for weddings and other occa-
sions. I will also do some hill
walking and spend time on the
computer. I certainly won’t be
bored.”