'Fake admiral' who gate-crashed Remembrance event boasted to neighbours that he was a SPY who 'was monitoring the Russians' for NATO | Retrui News | Retrui
'Fake admiral' who gate-crashed Remembrance event boasted to neighbours that he was a SPY who 'was monitoring the Russians' for NATO
SOURCE:Daily Mail
Jonathan Carley, 65, sparked fury after laying a wreath at the ceremony in Llandudno, North Wales dressed in a Rear Admiral's uniform with 12 medals pinned to his jacket.
A former teacher who posed as an admiral at a Remembrance Sunday event boasted that he worked for Navy intelligence snooping on Russia, his neighbours have claimed.
But he had never been in the Royal Navy or served at sea and after his legitimacy was questioned online he was arrested, telling police: 'I've been expecting you.'
As well as pretending to be an admiral, he also told one neighbour living near his £700,000 detached home in Harlech, Gwynedd, that he had also worked with Nato.
The neighbour said: 'He told a few of us that he was in the navy. We'd also seen him in his uniform once or twice, so it all seemed to fit.
'But he also mentioned that he had been in naval intelligence and that he had been monitoring the Russians.
'It was all a bit vague mind so we should have known.
'He is very polite and well-spoken and had a military bearing, so it was believable.
Jonathan Carley, 65, sparked fury after laying a wreath at the ceremony in Llandudno, North Wales, dressed in a Rear Admiral's uniform with 12 medals pinned to his jacket
As well as pretending to be an admiral, he also told one neighbour living near his £700,000 detached home in Harlech, Gwynedd,(pictured) that he had also worked with Nato
'However, it was all a pack of lies. He's obviously a very sad man to have made it all up.'
Fining him £500, District Judge Gwyn Jones told Carley that it was a 'sad reflection' on him that he had chosen to target such a solemn day of remembrance.
'It should have been a genuine opportunity to remember and to think about the lives of all those who have served the country and their community, with so many people not being able to be there,' he told him.
'You were there not as a genuine person but as someone who came to deceive and create a falsehood.
'Your actions totally disrespect the memories of all those persons who have fallen and causes a great deal of pain to families.'
Carley had altered a naval uniform issued to him while leading a group of cadets, hiring a tailor to sew admiral's rings onto the sleeves, and buying the medals online.
Among his array of medals were the prestigious Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Queen's Volunteer Reserves Medal, which is only given to military reservists.
Pictured: Jonathan Carley arriving at court - he was fined £500
Pictured left to right: A Distinguished Service Order Medal and The Queen's Volunteer Reserves Medal
Prosecutor James Neary said Carley - who had never previously been in court - had posed as an admiral because he 'sought a sense of belonging or affirmation'.
It was accepted that Carley had not sought to disrupt the day's solemn proceedings, he added - but that when he was unmasked as an imposter, it had provoked outrage.
Carley refused to discuss the recent verdict or his lies over his military service.
When quizzed by a Mail reporter at his home, Carley said: 'I'm afraid not, sorry - thank you', before he slammed his front door.
Neighbour Gethin Jones, 63, said: 'He told people he was in the navy.
'I knew he's been to a few events at the castle in his uniform so it all seemed to fit.
'I also heard he also claimed to have worked with Nato.'
He added: 'He seemed an upstanding person but all his lies are shocking.
'I think he's a harmless idiot but he seems to have upset people with his lies.'
Mother-of-two Ruth Hughes, 37, added: 'It's disgusting he's tried to pass himself as some sort of military hero with the navy.
'I hope he's embarrassed by it all. I only see him now and again but he's always very polite.
'I can't believe he's made all this up. I've heard he went to at least six or seven events in the local area dressed as an admiral.
'I don't understand why he felt he needed to do it.'
The Daily Mail previously revealed that Carley has donned the same fake admiral costume in two other Remembrance Sunday services in Caernarfon - once in 2018 and again in 2019.
Medals he was wearing included awards for service in Syria and Iraq, the court heard, as well as one issued by NATO and another marking Queen Elizabeth II's golden jubilee.
Pictured: Jonathan Carley (centre) at a Remembrance Sunday service in 2018
He identified himself to parade marshals as a rear admiral representing the Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd, Mr Neary said.
Carley's medals and 'distinguished' appearance meant they took him at his word, he added.
But soon after the parade, photographs of Carley dressed as an admiral 'went viral', the prosecutor said, with online researchers branding him a fake, and he was reported to police.
Arrested days later at his home in nearby seaside castle town of Harlech, Carley – who was described as 'remorseful' - told police: 'I've been expecting you.'
Both the uniform and medals were found in his car – Carley claimed he was about to 'surrender' them.
Instead they were taken away and destroyed.
Carley was also ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £200 surcharge.
Leaving court, Carley did not answer questions from reporters but stood next to Mr Haslam as he delivered a short statement.
Jonathan Carley (centre) at another war memorial service wearing a rear admiral outfit in 2019
Mr Haslam said: 'My client would like to reiterate his apologies to all of those who have been affected by what he did.
'As we made clear in court, he is utterly remorseful and he accepts the sentence of the court.'
The Walter Mitty Hunters Club, a group dedicated to unearthing cases of 'stolen valour', say records indicate no-one has earned both the DSO and QVRM.
Carley is only mentioned once in the London Gazette, the official record for military listing.
However, he is listed as a 2nd Lieutenant on probation with the combined cadet force Cheltenham College, where he was a history teacher.
He has also previously said he studied at Christ Church, Oxford, as well as a business degree at Harvard.
In a newspaper article he said he had been a boat captain at Oxford and had rowed at the top US university.
'As a schoolmaster, he coached at Eton and Cheltenham before moving to Shiplake,' the article read.
Carley is understood to have been a history and politics teacher at Cheltenham college in 1988.
After the parade, a Llandudno council spokesman said: 'The Town Council was not aware of, or notified of, the gentleman's attendance in advance. He appeared on the day.
'He was approached by the Parade Marshall and identified himself as a Rear Admiral and that he was representing the Lord Lieutenant's Office.
'The Council would like to add that it would not wish this to overshadow what was an excellent parade and remembrance service, and that with the exception of the identity of the gentleman, he laid his wreath respectfully before leaving.
'The Council understands that military organisations are looking into this, and we are awaiting any response.'
A Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd spokesman said: 'The Lord Lieutenant had no knowledge of asking anyone to go to the event on his behalf.
'The council sent over a photograph of the man but nobody here recognised him. The matter is under investigation at the moment.'
A Royal Navy spokesman said: 'Impersonating a Naval officer is insulting to anyone connected to the service and could be considered a criminal offence.
'Nothing should detract from the poignancy of Remembrance Sunday which can be a sombre time for members of the Royal Navy family and an opportunity for people in communities across the United Kingdom to pay their respects to people who have served or are serving their country.'