In a brazen case of stolen valour spanning over a decade, a former private school teacher has been convicted after posing as a decorated Royal Navy rear admiral at solemn remembrance ceremonies.
The Deception Unravels at a Remembrance Parade
Jonathan Carley, 65, saw his 14-year fantasy come crashing down after he laid a wreath at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Llandudno in November 2023. Pinned to his ill-fitting uniform were twelve medals, a glittering array that online investigators quickly determined no single living serviceperson could have earned. Naval veterans present had already grown suspicious of his appearance.
Carley, who told marshals he was representing the Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd, saluted and took a place amongst real VIPs, including the town's mayor. His arrest followed shortly after, with police finding him at his £700,000 home near Harlech Castle. "I've been expecting you," he reportedly told officers.
A Fabricated Career of Honour and Deceit
For years, Carley was a familiar figure at commemorative events in North Wales, notably at ceremonies marking the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Rorke's Drift in 2019. Video footage shows him, dressed in full uniform and clutching a ceremonial sword, delivering a speech at Harlech Castle. He praised attendees for commemorating history "in a very right spirit and right way," all while sporting insignia he had purchased online.
His fraud was elaborate. Carley had altered a naval uniform issued to him while leading cadets, hiring a tailor to sew admiral's rings onto the sleeves. The medals he wore included the prestigious Distinguished Service Order and the Queen's Volunteer Reserves Medal—a combination experts say is impossible to hold.
In reality, Carley's only military link was a probationary role as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Combined Cadet Force at Cheltenham College in 1991, where he worked as a history teacher. He had never served in the Royal Navy or been to sea.
Courtroom Consequences and Public Outrage
Appearing at Llandudno Magistrates' Court, Carley pleaded guilty to the obscure offence of wearing a uniform bearing the mark of His Majesty's forces without permission, an act outlawed since 1894. District Judge Gwyn Jones fined him £500, calling his actions a "sad reflection" and a display of "total disrespect" to the fallen and their families.
The judge stated Carley had attended the remembrance event "to deceive and create a falsehood." His solicitor, Mark Haslam, said his client had "wanted to play a part" but now understood it was "totally inappropriate" and that he had "seriously underestimated" the distress caused.
The sentence has been branded "pitiful" by the Walter Mitty Hunters Club, which campaigns against stolen valour. Colonel Richard Kemp, a former Army commander, said Carley's actions "undermined the solemnity" of Remembrance Sunday and showed "contempt" for grieving families.
All of Carley's fake uniform, sword, and medals have been seized and destroyed. He was also ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £200 surcharge.
