The Champ

With some wonderment in its tone, Canadian Military Headquarters in London said that in the field of absence-with-out-leave Adrien Demers was probably "standing broad-jump champion" of the Canadian or any other army. In Bordon, Hampshire, last week, the stubby, 35-year-old lance corporal from South Granby, Quebec, blandly pleaded guilty to being AWOL for "1,692 days, twelve hours, 20 minutes."

Adrien Demers enlisted in May, 1940, was shipped to a Canadian camp near Guildford, England. He went AWOL at Christmas time, he said, because a guardroom sergeant made his life miserable. Then, for four years and eight months, right under the noses of the Canadian Army, he lived an unsoldierly life of Riley.

He married a curly-haired English girl, installed her in a red brick villa on Guildford's Weyside Road, led her to think he was still in service and had a snap desk job. To make it look real, he left home every day at 8:30 a.m., returned at 4:30 p.m. He regularly promoted himself--to corporal, to sergeant, to sergeant major.

He fathered two children. To support his family, he visited Canadian camps, played cards with the boys and won. Afternoons he hung around dog race tracks, made money betting.

He was caught by chance--when Canadian Intelligence Corpsmen casually inquired about his identity, got answers that did not add up. This week a court-martial was still at work figuring out how much time Adrien Demers must serve.

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