Suspected ‘fake’ admiral Jonathan Carley sparked fury across the nation after attending a Remembrance Sunday event with a chest full of suspicious medals.
Dressed as a Rear Admiral, the 64-year-old laid a wreath before saluting the cenotaph in Llandudno, north Wales.
But, it was the two medals on his chest that led online sleuths to question his legitimacy, as no single serviceperson is believed to have been awarded both.
They included the prestigious Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal, awarded only to military reservists.
The Daily Mail also revealed Carley donned the same fake admiral costume in two other Remembrance Sunday services in Caernarfon – once in 2018 and again in 2019.
However, there were numerous glaring red flags when it came to the suspected imposter – from ‘too-long sleeves’ to his suspicious medals, a source said.
‘They don’t give the QVRM to rear admirals the highest I’ve seen is a commander, they said. ‘A rear admiral is more likely to get knighted. It was so blatantly obvious.’
‘The DSO is a few down from a Victoria cross, so everyone knows who has one. He was just obviously a Walt!’
Meanwhile, military expert and former Colonel Philip Ingram has laid bare the psychology behind those who impersonate veterans and military personnel.
Carley is said to have bluffed his way into laying a wreath alongside senior army officer at the even in Llandudno, north Wales. His row of medals, which appeared to include both the Distinguished Service Order and the Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal on the left-hand side, raised suspicions
Pictured left to right: A Distinguished Service Order Medal and The Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal
‘I think there’s probably a variety of motivations,’ the former Colonel. 60. told the Daily Mail.
‘They feel inadequate in themselves. They want to portray themselves as something they’re not, and that suggests there’s something in their life that has gone wrong.’
The veteran also suggested Walter Mitty types may be in ‘awe’ of those who have dedicated their lives to protecting British soil.
‘They want to be a part of it, and their way of doing so is like an actor on stage. They put on a costume and go out.
‘It’s almost them sort of honouring those that have served because they’re hankering after it, but, they’re doing it in a very strange way.’
Elsewhere, a source noted inconsistencies with Carley’s clothing – from the length of his ‘too long’ sleeves and his incorrect shirt.
‘A proper officer would never look like that and his shirt is not a Navy issue shirt, we don’t have cut away collars like that,’ they said.
‘Also, if he was a serving rear admiral, after the first of November, he would have been wearing a grey coat as well.’
Also, high-ranking armed forces personnel would not ‘turn up out of the blue’ to such an event, a source added.
‘They’d be invited well in advance, and they would have credentials that would be checked by stewards.’
Pictured: Jonathan Carley (centre) at a Remembrance Sunday service in 2018
Jonathan Carley at another war memorial service wearing a rear admiral outfit in 2019
In military circles, the term ‘Walter Mitty’ a fictional fantasist from James Thurber’s eponymous novel to refer to a band of hoaxers who pose as military personnel, despite never serving.
Several have emerged over the years, including Roger Day who famously admitted he didn’t earn the 17 medals, one bestowed for serving in World War II, at a Warwickshire parade in 2009.
A year before, bus driver Jamie Barrett participated in an Edinburgh Parade alongside Parachute Regiment members who had served in the Falklands. But he had bought his medals online.
When he was exposed he told the BBC: ‘I’m basically a Walter Mitty type of person.’
Despite feeling a degree of sympathy for those impersonating veterans and those serving, the former Colonel maintained it was still ‘incredibly disrespectful’.
‘The individuals who do this don’t understand that. They think they’re respecting the uniform and everything else. They aren’t, because they haven’t served.
He added: ‘Especially when you get the basics wrong, if you’re going to try and impersonate you get it right.
‘There are numerous examples every year of individuals being caught, professing to have done things they hadn’t done or to be people that they clearly aren’t.’
‘It enhances your frustration against people who think that by, falsely portraying themselves as a veteran it’ll give them some form of status.
He added: ‘They just don’t realise how much you just actually get ignored and get mucked around.’
But both the Lord Lieutenant and the council claim they do not know who the man is, with the local authority stating he was not on their guest list.
Photographs also show him posing next to officials at the war memorial ceremony at least twice before in 2018 and 2019.
Meanwhile, his neighbours in the famed seaside castle town of Harlech say he has been bragging about his made-up military service for years.
One told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s shocking that he’s tried to be pass himself off as an admiral.
‘It’s outrageous. He told a few neighbours that he was in the military but it’s all obviously a pack of lies.
When asked about the imposter claims, Mr Carley refused to come to the door, while two workmen mended his roof.
Mr 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 earning 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.
Jonathan Carley pictured in Lladudno this year where he saluted the war memorial
Carley was a history and politics teacher at Cheltenham College in 1988 before moving on to £17,500-a-term Shiplake four years later, The Sun reported.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s caused a huge row, it’s so obvious he is fake. QVRM has never been awarded to an Admiral and there are no Admirals in the Reserve.’
Some described him as ‘the highest ranking Walt,’ while another dubbed the unexpected guest ‘a belter’.
There are only 19 Rear Admirals currently listed as serving in the Royal Navy.
Lord Lieutenant Harry Fethersonhaugh has since told The Sun that he had never seen the man ‘before in [his] life’.
Meanwhile, a navy source told the publication they were ‘99.9 per cent certain’ the man in question was a fake.
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.’
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 Lieutenants 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.’
