Walter Mitty Marine: Ex-wife exposes bogus war hero in Cenotaph march
As the Royal Marines marched past the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, Elaine Deane spotted a familiar face on her TV screen.
It was her ex-husband Paul McFarlane - and he was up to his old tricks.
Contrary to the medals and regimental beret he was wearing, he never served in the Royal Marines.
Paul Mcfarlane marches past the Cenotaph alongside genuine war veterans on Remembrance Sunday
He was kicked out after a couple of weeks in basic training.
Yet the 54-year-old former lorry driver persists in masquerading as a war hero who saw action in the Falklands.
‘I was livid to see him parading in that uniform and medals he hasn’t earned,’ said Miss Deane, 49, who kicked him out of their home near Chester after discovering his lies.
‘He’s been going on marches for years but when I found out the truth I contacted every organisation in a 30-mile radius. He’s obviously got around that by going to London.
‘I don’t know why he does it but I think it makes him feel important.’
McFarlane met Miss Deane in January 1995 and, when they married three months later, he wore a Royal Marines uniform.
‘He was all dressed up, as bold as brass, even though I had friends from the military there,’ she said.
‘He was very comfortable with it all and said he’d been posted to Cyprus, Germany and, for some reason, Jersey.’
Doubts crept in when she heard him claiming he had served in the Royal Engineers, contradicting what he had told her.
But she stood by her husband, who like her had three children from a previous marriage, although he was often unemployed and she had to do two jobs as a cook and care assistant to support the family.
In January 2008 she heard that he was claiming they owned a holiday home in Spain. Doubting everything he had ever told her, she demanded he send off for his service record – and had her worst fears confirmed.
‘I said I’d had enough and told him to pack his bags,’
she said.
After he had gone she said she found military regalia including uniforms and canes in the attic, along with keys which turned out to fit the munitions cupboard of a navy cadet force where he had helped.
McFarlane, who is now living with his third wife, Debbie, and works as a doorman, insisted his military record was genuine when confronted at their home in Hawarden, north Wales.
He said: ‘I joined the Royal Marines in Brighton as a
cadet from school. I then served at Bickleigh Barracks [near Plymouth] from 1972
to 1991.
‘I am a Falklands veteran. I sailed out on Canberra and came back on the QE2.
Of course I never served in the Royal Engineers - that’s a contradiction in terms, isn’t it?’ His new wife added that he had medals for ‘Northern Ireland, the South Antarctic and In the Service of Peace’, saying: ‘My grandfather was in the First World War and I don’t believe Paul would have tried to bluff his way through about serving in the Royal Marines, knowing that.’
However, McFarlane failed to produce a single piece of evidence of his time in the service or any photographs showing him with fellow Marines in combat zones or other postings.
When pressed about Royal Marines Association membership, he admitted having the uncompleted paperwork at his house. He also gave three different final ranks – colour sergeant, corporal and lance corporal.
And given the opportunity to ask former colleagues to confirm his claims, he said: ‘All the people who could vouch for me being in the Royal Marines have told me they would rather not get involved.’
At the Cenotaph, McFarlane wore the uniform, cap badge and belt buckle of the Royal Engineers along with the General Service Medal of 1962 and the United Nations Force in Cyprus Medal, awarded for three months’ service keeping peace between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
The Royal Marines Association yesterday said that members were issued with tickets to join the march past the Cenotaph but McFarlane might have managed to slip in without one. A spokesman said: ‘I don’t recognise him and we don’t have a member by that name.’
A Ministry of Defence source confirmed the service number McFarlane gave to the Daily Mail does not exist and is not even similar to typical Royal Marine identification numbers.
He added: ‘It’s safe to say he’s never been in the Marines.’
Told that McFarlane claimed to have served for 19 years from 1972, an MoD spokesman said: ‘Between those dates there is no one of that name who served with the Royal Navy or the Marine
As the Royal Marines marched past the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, Elaine Deane spotted a familiar face on her TV screen.
It was her ex-husband Paul McFarlane - and he was up to his old tricks.
Contrary to the medals and regimental beret he was wearing, he never served in the Royal Marines.
Paul Mcfarlane marches past the Cenotaph alongside genuine war veterans on Remembrance Sunday
He was kicked out after a couple of weeks in basic training.
Yet the 54-year-old former lorry driver persists in masquerading as a war hero who saw action in the Falklands.
‘I was livid to see him parading in that uniform and medals he hasn’t earned,’ said Miss Deane, 49, who kicked him out of their home near Chester after discovering his lies.
‘He’s been going on marches for years but when I found out the truth I contacted every organisation in a 30-mile radius. He’s obviously got around that by going to London.
‘I don’t know why he does it but I think it makes him feel important.’
McFarlane met Miss Deane in January 1995 and, when they married three months later, he wore a Royal Marines uniform.
‘He was all dressed up, as bold as brass, even though I had friends from the military there,’ she said.
‘He was very comfortable with it all and said he’d been posted to Cyprus, Germany and, for some reason, Jersey.’
Doubts crept in when she heard him claiming he had served in the Royal Engineers, contradicting what he had told her.
But she stood by her husband, who like her had three children from a previous marriage, although he was often unemployed and she had to do two jobs as a cook and care assistant to support the family.
In January 2008 she heard that he was claiming they owned a holiday home in Spain. Doubting everything he had ever told her, she demanded he send off for his service record – and had her worst fears confirmed.
‘I said I’d had enough and told him to pack his bags,’
she said.
After he had gone she said she found military regalia including uniforms and canes in the attic, along with keys which turned out to fit the munitions cupboard of a navy cadet force where he had helped.
McFarlane, who is now living with his third wife, Debbie, and works as a doorman, insisted his military record was genuine when confronted at their home in Hawarden, north Wales.
He said: ‘I joined the Royal Marines in Brighton as a
cadet from school. I then served at Bickleigh Barracks [near Plymouth] from 1972
to 1991.
‘I am a Falklands veteran. I sailed out on Canberra and came back on the QE2.
Of course I never served in the Royal Engineers - that’s a contradiction in terms, isn’t it?’ His new wife added that he had medals for ‘Northern Ireland, the South Antarctic and In the Service of Peace’, saying: ‘My grandfather was in the First World War and I don’t believe Paul would have tried to bluff his way through about serving in the Royal Marines, knowing that.’
However, McFarlane failed to produce a single piece of evidence of his time in the service or any photographs showing him with fellow Marines in combat zones or other postings.
When pressed about Royal Marines Association membership, he admitted having the uncompleted paperwork at his house. He also gave three different final ranks – colour sergeant, corporal and lance corporal.
And given the opportunity to ask former colleagues to confirm his claims, he said: ‘All the people who could vouch for me being in the Royal Marines have told me they would rather not get involved.’
At the Cenotaph, McFarlane wore the uniform, cap badge and belt buckle of the Royal Engineers along with the General Service Medal of 1962 and the United Nations Force in Cyprus Medal, awarded for three months’ service keeping peace between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
The Royal Marines Association yesterday said that members were issued with tickets to join the march past the Cenotaph but McFarlane might have managed to slip in without one. A spokesman said: ‘I don’t recognise him and we don’t have a member by that name.’
A Ministry of Defence source confirmed the service number McFarlane gave to the Daily Mail does not exist and is not even similar to typical Royal Marine identification numbers.
He added: ‘It’s safe to say he’s never been in the Marines.’
Told that McFarlane claimed to have served for 19 years from 1972, an MoD spokesman said: ‘Between those dates there is no one of that name who served with the Royal Navy or the Marine
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