‘My daughter is a girly girl and loves getting her lashes and nails done – now we work together in the same male prison’

A 21-year-old “girly girl” and her mother who believe they are the “first mother-daughter duo” to work in the same Buckinghamshire prison, supporting and rehabilitating hundreds of male offenders, have spoken about overcoming “daunting” fears, stereotypes – and meeting royalty.

Tayler Myburgh, 21, a former care worker turned prison officer, said her decision to join HMP Aylesbury, where inmates’ crimes range from theft to murder, was influenced by hearing stories from her mother Linda Myburgh, 57, a Safer Prisons business administrator.

The pair, who are “best friends”, said their main motivation for working in the prison is to improve people’s lives – but this does not come without its challenges, particularly if prisoners “shout” or “lash out”.

While the duo, who live in Aylesbury, have never been physically assaulted or attacked by any of the male prisoners, and they have received extensive training, Tayler has experienced “confrontation”.

“In a moment of frustration, a prisoner can start shouting, refusing to follow instructions to try to prove a point,” Tayler told PA Real Life.

“They all react differently, so if a prisoner was angry, they might lash out, they might shout at you, but it’s about how you deal with them that’s important.”

The duo say “no two days are the same”, and with events for staff and prisoners being held throughout the year, such as family visits, wellbeing days, a sports day, and even a strongman contest, they enjoy how varied their roles can be.

The “dynamic duo” even met the Princess Royal who visited the prison in March, describing her as “very welcoming”, and said the occasion is something they will remember for a lifetime.

Speaking about outsiders’ reactions to their jobs, Tayler said: “For me, being young, I think I shock people when I say that I’m a prison officer working at Aylesbury prison.

“I like to get my lashes done, I like to get my nails done, I’m very girly, so they’re quite surprised when I tell them that I work in a jail.

“There’s also the stereotype of men working in the jail, rather than women, but I think there are more women than men working as officers.”

Linda added: “Some people think it’s very daunting to work in a prison, but prison is either for you or it isn’t for you.

“It’s not a negative place to work because it is what you make it at the end of the day, but people generally are shocked when I tell them. They just don’t think normal people like us can work in a prison.”

Prior to joining HMP Aylesbury as a prison officer in December 2022, Tayler worked in the care sector, helping the elderly or those who required end-of-life care.

Linda spent approximately a decade working at HMP Aylesbury for a local charity, supporting young offenders as a project manager, before leaving and re-joining the prison full-time as a business administrator last year.

Tayler, who works predominantly in security operations, said her mother “inspired” her to join the prison – but Linda had concerns about this initially, given her daughter was just 20 years old at the time.

“Tayler’s a very girly girl, and she likes nice things and dressing up, and I was just concerned that, if she’s going to start working in the prison as a prison officer, is it something she’s going to adapt to,” Linda said.

“But to be honest, she’s surprised me, and she’s adapted really well. It’s like I’ve got two Taylers – one at work and one at home.”

HMP Aylesbury previously housed young men aged 18 to 21 convicted of violent crimes and serving long sentences.

However, with rising numbers of prisoners needing accommodation elsewhere in the estate, it has since been redesignated as a category C – a training and resettlement – establishment, with around 400 male prisoners.

Tayler works a variety of hours – including weekends, nights, and some all-day shifts – while Linda, who is known as “Muma Myburgh” among staff, works flexi-hours at the prison.

Since the two work in different departments, they rarely see each other at work – but if Linda makes her famous potato salad, Tayler will always find an excuse to visit her on her lunchbreak.

They have found that working together has brought them closer and allowed them to develop a deeper understanding of one another, with Tayler discovering a newfound “confidence” and Linda enjoying seeing her daughter’s growth.

Linda said: “It is unusual to have mother-daughter duos working together in an environment such as a prison, and Tayler and I were probably the first mother and daughter duo (at HMP Aylesbury).

“I’m very proud of Tayler, and I’m proud of the achievements that she’s completed in her life up until now, and I’m hoping she’ll go further, and I know she will.”

While their jobs can be challenging, and others outside the prison service may perceive their roles as “dangerous”, they want to educate others about the “positive” aspects.

Along with meeting Princess Anne at the prison, Linda explained that they have a wellbeing day coming up later this month, which will include African dancing, yoga and karaoke for staff.

They host other events for the prisoners as well, such as football matches and a sports day, and during the strongman contest staff and prisoners applied to compete to find out “who’s stronger”.

Tayler said she finds it most rewarding when a prisoner is released back into the community, as she has seen “how far that person has come”, and she enjoys participating in “family days” at the prison.

For Linda, who is a qualified training and development officer, she said she deals with “more complex cases”, looking after the welfare of prisoners, and enjoys delivering mental health awareness training to staff.

Using their compassion and communication skills, the two said they are able to help prisoners transform their lives and learn from them, and they hope that they can change people’s perception of prisons.

“It can be daunting because you’re going to come across challenging situations, but the prison service provides you with all the training and the support,” Tayler said.

“People don’t always see what else goes on, people just think they’re prisoners, but at the end of the day, to us, we’re there to look after them, we have a duty of care, and we’re there to support them.”

Linda added: “We see a lot of TV programmes and they tend to show prisons in a certain light, but that’s what the viewers want, they want the excitement.

“But there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes in terms of the progression of prisoners and rehabilitating them back into the community, so I’ve always been for that, and I think it would be great if that is seen more.

“It’s a learning curve on a daily basis and I’m all about knowledge and learning things from other people … and sometimes I feel that we can learn from the prisoners that we work with as well.”