Christopher Skaife (born 18 December 1965) is a

Yeoman Warder The Yeomen Warders of His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. I ...

at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. He was previously the Ravenmaster and his responsibilities included the care and feeding for the

ravens of the Tower of London Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * ...

. Skaife was born in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

on 18 December 1965 and joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

at the age of 18. Skaife is a retired

colour sergeant Colour sergeant (CSgt or C/Sgt) is a rank of non-commissioned officer found in several armies and marine corps. Australia In the Australian Army, the rank of colour sergeant has only existed in the Corps of Staff Cadets at the Royal Military ...

and a former drum major with the

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR), also known as the Tigers, is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen ...

. In 2011, Skaife succeeded Derrick Coyle as Ravenmaster at the Tower of London, where he was responsible for seven ravens. In 2018, he published ''The Ravenmaster'', which ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' called "a wonderfully personal account of life with the ravens". In March 2024 he retired as Ravenmaster after 14 years and was replaced by

Company Sergeant Major The company sergeant major (CSM) is the senior non-commissioned soldier of a company in the armies of many Commonwealth countries, responsible for administration, standards and discipline. In combat, their prime responsibility is the supply of ...

Barney Chandler Michael 'Barney' Chandler (born 1967/1968) is the current Yeoman Warder Ravenmaster at the Tower of London. His responsibilities include the care and feeding for the ravens of the Tower of London. Born in Watford, he was appointed the 387th Yeom ...

(a former

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

Publications

References

1965 births 20th-century British Army personnel 21st-century British Army personnel 21st-century British non-fiction writers Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom English male non-fiction writers English non-fiction writers Living people Military personnel from Dover, Kent Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment soldiers Tower of London {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub