First World War veteran Herb Stonham of Dunnville, Ont., recalled this incident at Camp Borden in 1916 when his unit was preparing for embarkation leave:    “We were all on our best behavior except for Private Williams who somehow landed himself six days at Confined to Barracks at the last minute. Two days later, we were on the train on the way to our various homes and feeling sorry for our friend, when who should walk down the aisle of the train but Pte. Williams. He was very jaunty but we knew he’d be in deeper trouble when he returned. When we reported back, he immediately paraded before the commanding officer.

“Well, soldier, have you any explanation for breaking out of camp when you were confined to barracks?”

“Yes, sir,” said Pte. Williams. “Ever since I joined up, everybody has been telling me about this thing called liberty that we’re fighting for. Well, when everybody was leaving I figured that I was entitled to some of that liberty, too. So I just took a few days of it before I went to fight for it.”

The CO dismissed the case while he could still keep a straight face.