Former Shiplake College teacher fined for posing as navy admiral

A FORMER teacher and rowing coach at Shiplake College has been fined £500 after admitting he posed as a navy admiral at a Remembrance Sunday parade.

Jonathan Carley, 65, from Harlech, Gwynedd, was charged with wearing uniform or dress bearing the mark of His Majesty’s Forces without permission.

He was arrested at his homes in North Wales after images surfaced of him wearing the uniform and a raft of medals at a parade in Llandudno on November 9.

At Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Monday Carley was fined £500 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £200 surcharge.

District Judge Gwyn Jones said: “It should have been a genuine opportunity to remember and think about the lives of all those who have served their country and their community. It is a sad reflection upon you that you chose to do such a thing on such a difficult day for so many.”

Carley had 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 then bought medals online.

Jams Neary, prosecuting, said that at the “well attended” service, Carley wore medals including for service in Iraq and Syria, and approached organisers to introduce himself.

Mr Neary said: “The defendant was allowed to lay a wreath. He did so, he saluted and stood among other dignitaries.”

Carley, who was dressed in a shirt and tie and a long formal coat, spoke in court only to confirm his name, age, address and to state “guilty” when the charge against him was read out.

Mark Haslam, defending, said that Carley was the “author of his own misfortune”, adding: “He has been punished by being publicly humiliated.”

Leaving court, Carley did not answer questions from reporters but Mr Haslam gave a statement on his behalf. He 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.” Carley had been seen wearing the uniform of a rear admiral, which is one of the highest ranks in the Royal Navy.

Llandudno Town Council, which organised the remembrance event, confirmed that no one of senior rank had been due to attend the ceremony. After photographs of Carley went viral on social media he was arrested at his home on Friday, November 14.

Carley said in a police interview that he had wanted a sense of “belonging and affirmation”.

The court was told that 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 is an offence under the Uniforms Act, which dates back to 1894.

Carley, a former history teacher, joined Shiplake College in 1994 and had previously been captain of boats at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1983.

For the next two years he rowed at Harvard while completing a business degree and his crew won its division at the Head of the Charles River.

As a schoolmaster, he coached at Eton and Cheltenham before arriving at Shiplake at which time he took over the history department.