For former history teacher Jonathan Carley, it must have felt like the walls closed in on him in an instant when police, searching for a fake Royal Navy officer, came knocking on the door of his grand clifftop home.
Inside, officers uncovered a pristine military uniform, medals and a ceremonial sword – a weapon that had first sparked suspicions.
Police were following reports that Carley, who had attended a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in north Wales dressed as a rear admiral, was actually an imposter.
On Monday, he was fined £500 after admitting to wearing a uniform or dress bearing the mark of His Majesty’s Forces without permission.
Last year’s Llandudno Remembrance Service was not the first event where Jon Carley had dressed up as a high-ranking navy officer [Tony Mottram]
The 65-year-old had joined those laying wreaths and saluted the war memorial at the ceremony in Llandudno last November.
Serving and former service personnel had become suspicious of the supposed rear admiral – the third highest rank in the Royal Navy – when they saw his sword and the rare Distinguished Service Order medal.
“It’s one down from the Victoria Cross,” Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry told the BBC.
He said the DSO medal was an “easy spot” because it is such an exceptional award, and said only a small percentage of those who join the navy reach rear admiral.
“You’re eight ranks up and two down from the head of the navy,” said Parry, who left the Royal Navy in 2008.
Carley (on the left) aroused suspicion after appearing at the 2024 Llandudno Remembrance Service with a sword hanging by his side [Tony Mottram]
Carley had been attending events wearing the epaulettes and sleeve lace of a rear admiral for years, but some had been waiting to catch him.
Unknown to Carley, the former private school teacher’s dishonesty started to unravel at a drizzly Remembrance Day parade in Llandudno in 2024 – a year before he would be outed in national news.
“He had a massive sword on him and that is what really stuck out because we’d never seen it before,” explained photographer Tony Mottram, who was taking pictures at the seaside resort’s annual event in 2024 when he first spotted Carley.
He said Carley’s medals, sword and the fact he was on his own made people wary.
“He kept in the background, but was suspicious because of that,” said the 63-year-old who was in the Territorial Army and worked for the Royal Air Force.
“All the rest of us know each other by name. He just kept out of the picture. He was a bit of a loner, no one was talking to him.”
Tony Mottram often takes pictures of the Rememberance Sunday parades in Llandudno [BBC]
Mottram did his best to get photographic evidence of the mystery rear admiral in 2024 – but before they knew it, he was gone.
There was outrage among some ex-service personnel and an agreement that if the bogus rear admiral was to try that again, they would be ready.
So when Carley, from Harlech in Gwynedd, resurfaced at the 2025 Remembrance Sunday service, albeit without his sword, Mr Mottram was making no mistakes.
“I looked at him more this year… and picked up on the collar, the cut and length of the tunic,” he said.
“The hemming wasn’t right, the length wasn’t right. You either go on parade right or you don’t go at all.”
Carley wore an array of medals on his chest which he had bought online, including the DSO – awarded for highly successful command and leadership during active operations – an honour very few personnel have been awarded since 1979.
Chief Petty Officer Terry Stewart had been forewarned about what happened in 2024 and after 27 years in the Royal Navy, he was suspicious about the rear admiral that was attending the 2025 parade alongside him.
“I asked the veterans in the vicinity if that was the same rear admiral as last year. They said yes,” said CPO Stewart, who removed himself from the parade so he could follow the admiral.
“I approached him, saluted and introduced myself,” added Stewart.
“I informed him that the ex-Royal Navy Veterans were not aware of him and I asked for his name. He said ‘he must go’ and that he was invited by the Lord Lieutenant’s office.”
He said Carley returned the salute, gave his full name and appeared confident and “not at all” worried.
Chief Petty Officer Terry Stewart left the Llandudno Remembrance Service parade to confront Carley [Terry Stewart]
Stewart was convinced he was talking to a fake.
Carley was charged by police under a law from the 1800s that prohibits wearing a military uniform without permission – and on Monday he became the eighth person in 10 years to be taken to court charged with that offence in the UK.
No similar law exists for the medals he wore – or for those individuals that make up stories without dressing up.
BBC News asked Carley about his motivation – but he didn’t comment.
In his police interview, he said he wanted a sense of “belonging and affirmation”.
Pictures and videos posted online show that Llandudno is not the first place Carley had dressed as a rear admiral.
He has been pictured at other Remembrance services in north Wales since 2018, shortly after it is believed he moved to the area.
In one video, he appears to be giving a speech to the public in his full admiral’s uniform, complete with sword, at a Rorke’s Drift memorial event.
Ironically, he was paying tribute to the military reenactors present.
Andy Gittens first met Carley a few months before his Rorke’s Drift speech, after he started attending rehearsals for his male voice choir.
Carley gave a speech at a Battle of Rorke’s Drift memorial event in 2019 [BBC]
“I think he’d said he was Navy. I can’t remember him saying a rank,” recalled Gittens, who said Carley didn’t sing with them for long.
“As I recall he was very rarely there,” said the former fireman from Gwynedd.
But when Gittens’ choir attended Harlech Castle in 2019 for a Rorke’s Drift memorial, they instantly recognised Carley.
“We gathered in the morning for rehearsal with the band and the choir. He was nowhere to be seen.
“All of a sudden he appears in this uniform. Normally those events are covered by the Lord Lieutenant, but he came bounding out larger than life.
“He was completely believable, dressed to the nines with his sword. He then proceeds to take over.”
Gittens said despite his initial surprise at seeing Carley in this new role, he had no reason to doubt him until he saw the recent news coverage.
“He was quite amenable, very nice and a believable bloke,” he said.
Carley admitted dressing as a fake Royal Navy rear admiral at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Monday [PA Media]
In the past, Carley has given newspaper interviews about both studying and rowing at Oxford and Harvard – as well as teaching at some of the country’s most prestigious schools such as Eton, Cheltenham and Shiplake College.
Cheltenham College confirmed Carley did teach history and politics there between 1988 and 1992.
This period also appears to have been his only genuine brush with the military, with his name appearing in the London Gazette in 1991 as part of the college’s Combined Cadet Force.
After teaching, Carley is understood to have worked at Christ Church College, University of Oxford, as a rowing coach for several years.
One former student told us he was “absolutely flabbergasted” to see his former coach in the news while others spoke of a respected and “warm, witty, fun” coach.
Newspaper articles show Carley (right) during his time as a rowing coach at private colleges [Henley Standard]
“His role was head coach of at least a couple of the men’s boats and was the coordinator of all things Christ Church rowing,” said one former student.
“He was very good at motivating the crew. The speeches he gave were like they were previously scripted. I think other rowers really respected him. People worked really hard for him.”
Carley’s former student said he “would never have believed” he would do something like that.
Eton College and the University of Oxford have not responded to requests for comment.
