To feel sorry for the fake admiral

If he has not tried to gain money or gifts it is not so much a criminal offence but morally wrong yes. He definitely needs medical intervention now .

No. There’s no obviously. You don’t know that. Not all unsavoury or odd behaviour is attributable to mental health.You can’t guess risk profile or speculate that he may pose a risk to others. Sectioned? Do you actually mean assessed by AMHP, S12, and psychiatrist to determine if he met threshold for admission and treatment? Spirit of MHAA is least restrictive option, not straight to detection under MHAA.

Your post is hyperbole and speculation

You don’t think impersonating military personnel is causing harm?

He's deliberately sought out the bigger events. The town they're reporting him as being from has a remembrance service every year and I've never seen him there.

She has honorary rank. Like it or not, she is entitled to that uniform.

I think morally, it’s obviously very questionable and I’d find it really weird if I knew him, but I don’t see it as a crime tbh.

So if she's never served, why is she walking around in fancy dress?

The only difference between her and the 'rear admiral' is that at least he didn't use taxpayers' cash to pay for his delusions of grandeur.

I’ve known 3 fantasists in my life: one a teacher as this guy was, with a very similar background. He’d create some type of fantasy life and then act it out until found out. He didn’t gain from these monetarily at all. A wonderful inspirational teacher who was much loved despite his oddities.

The second also believed his own dreams and did bizarre things like apply for public roles he’d have no hope of getting and be manifestly unqualified for, eg head of BBC despite having a normal job. Harmless but the mental illness got the better of him in the end.

The third was a woman which is relatively unusual. She claimed to own mega houses she absolutely didn’t, saying she lived modestly for “security reasons”. Of the 3, she was the most sneaky - no public profile etc. - and didn’t respond to challenge well.

My personal opinion is that it’s a form of grandiose illusions. They’re not happy with their (nice) lives and create fantasies where they are “better” versions of themselves. They know they’re not believed.. Basically it’s mental illness.

It could be MH issues or simply attention seeking but this kind of thing is more likely linked to some kind of confidence scam. It builds a pattern of authority and trustworthiness that then allows them to gain someone's trust and exploit them.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are lots more incidents like this and there is definitely the possibility that it is not just military veterans he is impersonating.
It would be a mistake to think this is harmless.

He obviously has serious MH issues , this could have spiralled into him becoming a danger to other people.He should be sectioned for a short period to be assessed. He could react violently to being confronted with his deception. Or he may be harmless but totally delusional.Either way he needs to be detained for assessment. By what local people have said,he was pushy and because it is a soleme occasion,no one wanted to confront him at the time.
As for his job well , is he really still fit to do it?Part of me feels pity for him,it does but also disgust at not having actually genuinely served his country.

@Susiy

Andrew and Harry were not down in the trenches, they were co-pilots with the emphasis on "co"

Actually no, they both spent at least some of their respective flying careers as aircraft commanders

...and as a general point co-pilots are fully qualified pilots, not some sort of lowly assistant to the boss or bag carrier for the pilot in command.

You don't get to be a co-pilot unless you are capable of flying the helicopter on your own.

It’s offensive to those who have served. Those who have the seen and unseen scars of service. Those sadly not with us

I did too although AMW Esq only made Vice-Admiral (55th birthday pressie) in the end.

He was due to be bumped up to Admiral as a 60th birthday gift but 'honourably' decided not to take it until his name was cleared 🙄

C3 is apparently working to get his VA status removed but I do think he should get to keep his Falklands medal. Unlike so many of the royals he actually earned it.

It's offensive to people who have genuinely served and especially to those who have lost loved ones in military service - he was doing this at a remembrance service, not walking randomly down the street somewhere,

He may have MH issues, in which case I am sure whoever represents him in the criminal proceedings will make that known and it will be considered in the outcome.

If he's done it in full mental capacity, he deserves to pay a penalty - if I were a judge I'd sentence him to hefty community service - since he's taken the honour of those who genuinely gave service to society, he can have a taste of giving something back himself.

Absolutely no sympathy! My husband served for 24 years, this is a complete insulted to all those who served, fought and died for their Country

This. We have my late great uncle's medals from WWII. He was the loveliest man but so terribly effected by what he witnessed in Burma that he would never speak of it and suffered awful night terrors for years. This charlatan waltzing along with his unearned medals is an insult to his memory.

I'm pretty sure Royals in the army are given preferential treatment and have additional security that the men at the bottom of the hierarchy never get.

Andrew and Harry were not down in the trenches, they were co-pilots with the emphasis on "co".

Neither seem intelligent enough to pilot a helicopter/plane on their own and I seriously doubt either would have had the opportunity to do so if they were not royals.

I genuinely think they were just indulging in a more elaborate type of cos-playing than this retired teacher.

I think he is over of those people who has an inflated sense of self importance and needs to have his ego massaged by others. A regular state school teacher doesn't command that level of prestige anymore so he worked at a private school instead.
The taking up of voluntary positions at a boat club, so that he gets fawned over. It all points to someone who craves power and respect.
At the last domestic violence conference that I attended they singled out men like this as having a much higher likelihood of being an abuser.
The classic, pillar of society type, eg scout master, priest, sports coach, anyone seeking a position of power really.
He put himself at the very forefront of that parade, ahead of others who had the right to be there legitimately. They stood there humbly, whilst he stole their valour and the respect that was theirs. That isn't victimless.

It's not a victimless crime though.
It has genuinely angered and upset a lot of people.

YABU. He impersonated a military officer. That's a crime. He knew exactly what he was doing.

And FFS why are we excusing so much bad behaviour these days on the grounds that the person involved may have mental health issues? Where does it stop?
People need to take responsibility for their actions.

If he had simply worn the uniform in the crowd and hadn't pushed his way into the ceremony, claiming to represent the Lord Lieutenant's office, I would have a lot more sympathy. As it is, he has quite rightly been charged with wearing the uniform without authority. If he is convicted, the penalty is a fine of up to £1,000.

We don't know if he is unwell as some on this thread have suggested. If he is, that is likely to be a mitigating factor, reducing the level of penalty.

This isn't the first incident, he's been to a couple more services wearing the same or similar uniforms previously. He's deliberately going to the services, knowing he's not on the guest list and putting himself into the spotlight. Yes, there's clearly a psychological reason behind it. Maybe he's someone who failed to get into the military? Or someone who feels they're inadequate? I don't know. Impersonating military personnel, and wearing military uniform is an insult to those who've served. It also opens up to the possibility of other fraud. He's supposed to have degrees, taught at private schools, gone to prestigious universities - all of which may be untrue!

I think the issue is he didn't simply rock up as a pretend former serviceman to stand at the back of the parade..if he'd done that there would probably have been a shrugging of shoulders.

According to some reports he basically barged into proceedings at the last minute, blew off queries about his status from one official by claiming to be representing the (?) Lord Lieutenant and so blagged his way into the wreath laying ceremony...

He may well have MI issues but given it appears he has previous for this maybe it's time someone at least gave him a bit of a talking to.