Beefeaters Union

Beefeaters Union Tower Warders, Under orders, Gallant pikemen, valiant swordersf --The Yeomen of the Guard The puffy old gentlemen in red-breasted tunics who carry halberds up and down the battlements of the Tower of London are, as every U.S. tourist knows well, Yeomen Warders. At the drop of one of their black band box hats, they will explain at length that England's first Tudor king, Henry VII, recruited them in 1485 to serve as his personal bodyguard, and that they earned their proud name in 1669 when the Grand Duke of Tuscany wrote: "They are great eaters of beef . . . They might be called beefeaters." By custom, each must have distinguished himself in service with the army or royal marines.

What they do not explain is that in modern Britain, Beefeaters have kept their uniforms and little else. They eat as little beef as everyone else in the meatless isles (not more than 23-c- worth weekly on the ration), and largely confine themselves to guarding the Tower by day, checking files and posing for tourists' photographs. They might be called bureaucrats.

Last week 37 of the 43 Beefeaters still under warrant organized Branch 338 of the Civil Service [trade] Union. Even after the union raised its age limit to 65, four were ineligible (the oldest, Yeoman David Sprake, is 84) ; two others refused to join. Said one: "When you mount guard, you may know that nowadays there are no marauders outside the Tower and no prisoners inside. But you wouldn't stop mounting guard, would you? You just can't keep changing things."

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