George Herd,BBC Wales, Llandudno Magistrates’ Courtand
Oliver Slow,BBC Wales
This is the moment when Jonathan Carley was spotted wearing the uniform and medals of a high-ranking navy officer
A man has been fined £500 after admitting to dressing as a navy admiral without permission at a Remembrance Sunday event.
Jonathan Carley, 65, was charged with wearing uniform or dress bearing the mark of His Majesty’s Forces without permission.
He was arrested at his home in north Wales after images showed him wearing the uniform of one of the Royal Navy’s most senior ranks, along with a raft of medals – including a Distinguished Service Order – at a Remembrance Sunday parade in Llandudno.
Appearing at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Carley was fined £500 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £200 surcharge.
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Jonathan Carley, 65, appeared at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Monday
He was seen wearing the epaulettes and sleeve lace of a Rear Admiral, a two-star position that is one of the highest ranks in the Royal Navy, at the event in November.
Carley, from Harlech in Gwynedd, was seen walking in formation to the war memorial before a wreath was laid by another individual, and then saluted at the war memorial before marching away.
Concerns were raised by serving and former service personnel.
Llandudno Town Council, which organised the Remembrance event, confirmed that no-one of the senior rank had been due to attend the ceremony.
He told police that the naval uniform was issued to him legitimately when he was in the cadets but he had rear admiral rings added by a tailor and he had bought medals online.
James Neary, prosecuting, said at the “well attended” service, Carley wore medals including for service in Iraq and Syria and approached organisers to introduce himself.
“The defendant was allowed to lay a wreath. He did so, he saluted and stood among other dignitaries,” Neary said.
Hundreds of people were on the seafront in Llandudno to mark Remembrance Sunday
Carley’s photograph later went viral on social media and when he was arrested on 14 November, he told police: “I’ve been expecting you.”
In interview, he told police he had wanted a sense of “belonging and affirmation”.
Carley faced a single charge of being a person not serving in HM military forces, wearing without His Majesty’s permission a uniform and dress bearing the regimental or other distinctive mark of the military force, namely The Royal Navy.
The court was told that is an offence under the Uniforms Act, which dates back to 1894.
