Mark Izzard; Walting in the UK

Someone sent us this story in the UK’s Daily Mail about this fellow, Mark Izzard, who had his wife convinced that he was a Special Air Services commando, that he was off doing secret squirrel stuff when all he was doing was driving a truck. When she had breast cancer, he continued the lie, so she died thinking he was some gigantic hero. He even sent himself mail, that she would open, telling wild stories about his derring-do. After her death, their kids found the truth;

Looking at it now, Miss Gyoury said: ‘When he gave me paperwork there was this letter from the Army saying he must go for a psychological test.

‘It’s ridiculous. He spent the time to type up his own letter but it doesn’t even have a letter head. He used to get mum to open his post. I thought maybe he posted it to himself so she could open it.’

She added: ‘It made me think what mum would have done if she was alive. It would have been very embarrassing for her. It’s a big thing to lie about. She wouldn’t have wanted to be with him.’

The brother and sister were aided by internet vigilante group the Walter Mitty Hunters Club in outing Izzard as a con.

Izzard claims that it all started with a “bird” in a pub and he just continued with the lies for nearly twenty years. The Ministry of Defence says they have no record of him ever serving.

Here’s another, Paul MacFarland, who was busted a few years ago by his ex-wife (how many of our phonies are busted, by the way). He pretended to be in the Royal Marines, he even got wedded to his now-ex in uniform. Finally, she got suspicious of him and when he couldn’t produce any proof, she booted him. He cropped up later doing the whole thing all over again with a new wife. He was a truck driver, too, like Mark. Paul, here had actually been in the Marines for a few weeks, though.

Category: Politics