A doting wife went to her grave believing her 'veteran'
husband was a British war hero - only for her children to later discover he was
nothing more than a fantasist lorry driver.
Mark Izzard lied to partner Tracey for 15 years that he'd
fought for his country in Iraq and had his knee obliterated in battle.
Mark Izzard lied to partner Tracey for 15 years that he'd
fought for his country in Iraq and had his knee obliterated in battle
To perpetuate the lie he posed for 'official' photographs in
a fancy dress beret while gripping a BB gun - and even sent himself letters
through the post confirming his discharge from the SAS, which he asked his wife
to open, as he manufactured an entirely fictional past for almost two decades.
She fell for every word he said, and died of cancer three
years ago content she'd spent the best years of her life married to a decorated
military hero. But it was all a lie. The most gruelling battles her
'ex-soldier' husband had ever fought in were on Britain's roads while working
as a delivery driver.
Izzard's stepson Danny, 22, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire,
said: 'He said to me he was in the First Gulf War.
'He said he had been blindfolded and put in the back of a lorry and taken out into the back of a forest and chucked out and broke his legs and to survive had to crawl back to civilisation.
'He said that at one point he was a sniper and there was a terrorist that had taken hold of an aeroplane and there was a hostage situation. He said he was overseeing it through his sniper but didn't have to shoot anyone.
'I always believed what I was being told growing up with it you just believe it.
'I felt sorry for mum. Basically, their whole relationship was a lie.'
The 44-year-old currently drives for Jewson tool hire and
has absolutely no military background. Despite that, Izzard - of Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire -
told family and friends he was a medal earning SAS veteran who'd been tortured
and blown up. He'd regale his wife and stepchildren with stories of his
war-time heroics, explaining how he'd lost good friends in the field of battle.
The phony even continued the lie online, posting photographs
of troops and pretending they were pictures of him firing a mortar in Bosnia
and parachuting over Hankley Common, in Surrey - a photograph that actually
showed a Para named Lee Crichton jumping from a plane.
Another of his Facebook pictures said he was in a high
altitude low opening (HALO) skydive school in 1988 despite a poster hanging in
the background for Monsters, Inc. - which was released in 2001.
Izzard's stepdaughter Jemma Gyoury, 21, an accounts
administrator at a cake supplier, said: 'There were medals on display and Army
memorabilia in the house.
'If anything went wrong she would say it's because he has been in the Army and blame it on that.
'She [Mrs Izzard] would excuse things and say, "He's been through a lot".
'He said he was in the SAS and claimed he had been shot in the knee cap and his knee exploded and he had a metal knee.
'And he claimed a scar on his head was where a bullet scathed him..
'He would say he has seen his mates blown up - horrible things. And he claimed he had been tortured.'
The phony continued his lie online, posting photographs of
troops that he pretended were him - including one of a Para named Lee Crichton
jumping from a plane - with the caption: 'Me flying on first HALO jump'
Commercial administrator Mrs Izzard died in North Middlesex
Hospital, in Enfield, north London, in 2012 aged 39 just a month after she was
diagnosed with breast cancer. The siblings grew suspicious of their step-dad when they
were sorting out their deceased mother's estate in January and discovered a
letter addressed to 'Corporal Izzard'.
Izzard claimed this was a photograph of him 'looking fed up
in Kuwait'
It was said to have been sent from a staff sergeant at an
SAS base in Hereford, referred to Izzard as a 'class one sniper' and detailed
his alleged service history. 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.'
Izzars also claimed that this photograph showed him with
comrades in Kenya in 1989
The brother and sister were aided by internet vigilante
group the Walter Mitty Hunters Club in outing Izzard as a con. Images that he'd shared on Facebook were mocked by
ex-troops.
Izzard posted this photograph which he claimed was taken
while he was on watch duty
Mr Crichton, 53, who lives in the North West, who served in
the 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment between 1980-88, said:
'I think it's wrong in every way for someone to impersonate people like this.'It's very bizarre.'
The lorry driver said he was 'second from the left' in this
photograph of soldiers preparing for a parachute jump above Kentucky in 1990
Responding to the claims, Izzard said:
'It started off as a joke in the pub with a bird years ago. I put some pics on Facebook and the next thing I know I'm getting death threats.'
Despite posting photographs such as this one, the most
gruelling battles Izzard had ever fought in were on Britain's roads while
working as a delivery driver
When asked whether he lied to his ex-wife who has since died
of cancer, he revealed:
'That was her involved in the first place, that's who it was.'
The images Izzard shared on Facebook were later mocked by
real former soldiers
The Ministry of Defence confirmed it has no record of
Izzard's involvement in the forces
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed it has no record of
Mark's involvement in the forces. A spokesman said:
'We have no record of this individual serving in the Army.'
Source
DailyMail
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