For almost a thousand years, the Tower of London has been an iconic symbol of power for people across the world – but for one Balloch man it is now his home.
Scott Kelly landed his dream job as a Yeoman Warder – nicknamed Beefeater – which he described as “better than winning the lottery”.
The 46-year-old has the important role of protecting visitors, giving tours and safeguarding the world famous Crown Jewels.
He even lives in the grounds of the Royal fortress with his wife Lyndsay, 46, and their daughters Lauren, 15 and Olivia, 13.
The Yeoman Warders – known as Beefeaters because they were allowed to eat as much beef as they wanted from the king’s table – are descended from the ancient band of warders who guarded the gates and royal prisoners, early in the Tower’s history.
Modern Yeoman Warders are still Extraordinary Members of the Queen’s Bodyguard.
They are all former warrant officers from Her Majesty’s Forces with an honourable service record of at least 22 years and today, they combine their traditional ceremonial role with a love of history to make the past come to life for visitors.
Scott is the 409th person to become a Beefeater. He told the Lennox Herald how he pinches himself every day at landing the coveted role. He said: I’ve never been so happy to be offered a job.
“It is better than winning the lottery and doesn’t feel like a job. It’s a lifestyle and it’s having a huge family here.
“It’s the biggest thing that could have happened to me.
“My family love it here too. My children like to play hide and seek within the walls seeped with history once the visitors have left and even my dog Juneau enjoys playing in the moat.”
Scott was brought up in Balloch, with his dad John Kelly’s family all being from around the Loch Lomond area.
Memories of his childhood are filled with happy times on the loch, visiting many of the islands and fishing with his dad and brother.
He makes sure to come back and visit his family every year and four years ago returned to his homeland to marry Lyndsay at Luss Parish Church.
He said: “My father was in the forces and he was posted all over the world so we would follow him and then come back to Scotland in between all of that.
“I still have family in Balloch and I visit around once a year and try and make sure I return for Hogmanay.”
Also known as Jack, Scott’s dad was a sergeant major in the Royal Artillery.
Scott decided to follow in his footsteps but went on a slightly different path.
He explained: “My papa was also in the army and normally sons follow their fathers and papas into the same regiment but I wanted to fly helicopters so I joined the Army Air Corps instead.”
He has 24 distinguished years of service in the Army Air Corps and served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq.
He guarded Royal palaces as part of his army career and it was a visit to the Tower of London which planted the seed.
All Beefeaters must have carried out a minimum of 22 years of service, reach sergeant major level and must hold a long service and good conduct medal.
Scott saw a post advertising the job and was one of 175 hopefuls who applied.
Since he arrived, he said his “feet haven’t touched the
ground” and he was even followed around by a camera crew for the first series of Channel 5’s In the Tower, which documented his training.
Scott also appears in the new series of the documentary, which began on Tuesday last week.
He told the most challenging part of the job was learning word-for-word the 28-page, 8500-word script of the famous Yeoman Warder tour – before being allowed to lead a tour himself.
But it was well worth the effort, Scott added: “The first person you’ll see on entering the Tower of London is a Beefeater – we meet and greet all guests and get to meet people from all over the world which is amazing.”
Inside the Tower is on every Tuesday at 9pm on Channel 5.
