William Joyce biography

He had never directly claimed a single life, regardless of how reprehensible his political views might be.

On September 27, 1945, Joyce's lawyers gave notice of appeal, on the grounds that the Judge had ruled incorrectly that he could be expected to owe allegiance to the Crown during his time in Germany. The appeal was heard on October 30 and dismissed on November 7.

Due to the important questions of law involved in the case,

the Attorney General granted permission for the Joyce case to be heard before the House of Lords; the highest British court, which occurred between December 10 and 13. The Lords also dismissed the appeal, on a vote of 3 to 1, on December 18, 1945.

All routes of appeal now exhausted, Joyce went to his death unrepentant and defiant saying, "In death as in life, I defy the Jews who caused this last war, and I defy the powers of darkness which they represent," according to the BBC.

He was hanged at Wandsworth Prison at 9 a.m. on January 3, 1946, the last person in British history to be hanged for treason.

Like all executed prisoners, he was buried in un-consecrated ground within the prison grounds.

The fate of Margaret Joyce, who had followed much the same path as her husband, in terms of treasonable actions, was markedly different to that of her husband.

There are two main theories about her treatment after their arrest in Flensburg, and her return to the U.K. Firstly, that the authorities felt that she had suffered enough through her husband's trial, and that they had no appetite for a further trial, and secondly, that Joyce agreed to keep his connections to MI5 secret, in exchange for the freedom of Margaret. Certainly, as a British citizen, born and raised, a treason case against her could more easily have been made than against her husband, although she was not as well known a broadcaster as her husband had been.

For whatever reason, she was never charged, and was instead shipped out of Britain shortly after his execution, but was allowed to return back to the U.K. some years later. She died in 1972, reportedly from alcohol-related illness.

On August 18, 1976, William Joyce's remains were exhumed from their site within Wandsworth Prison and returned for burial to Ireland, where they were re-interred at the New Cemetery in Bohermore, County Galway.

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