Educational purpose only. This post documents historical events related to World War II and aims to educate about the legal and historical significance of the William Joyce case. We do not glorify violence or hate.
Opening the Grave of Lord Haw-Haw: The Strange Journey of Britain’s Executed WWII Traitor
In the early morning of January 3, 1946, William Joyce—better known as “Lord Haw-Haw”—was hanged at Wandsworth Prison in London. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the prison burial ground. Thirty years later, his remains were exhumed and quietly reburied in Ireland . This article examines the life, death, and posthumous journey of Britain’s last executed traitor.
1. Who Was William Joyce?
William Brooke Joyce was born on April 24, 1906, in Brooklyn, New York, to an Irish father and an English mother . He was raised in Ireland, where he attended Jesuit-run St. Ignatius College in Galway . In 1921, he moved to England and later joined the British Union of Fascists, becoming a close ally of Oswald Mosley .
In August 1939, just before World War II broke out, Joyce fled to Germany . He began broadcasting for German State Radio, using the phrase “Germany calling, Germany calling” in an upper-class English accent . His broadcasts mixed news, propaganda, and psychological warfare, earning him the nickname “Lord Haw-Haw” .
2. The Trial and Execution
After Germany’s defeat, Joyce was captured by British troops near Flensburg on May 28, 1945 . He was brought to London and tried at the Old Bailey in September 1945 for high treason .
The key legal issue: Joyce was not a British subject—he was an American citizen . However, the prosecution argued that he owed allegiance to the British Crown because he had fraudulently obtained a British passport in 1933 . The jury found him guilty, and his appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal and the House of Lords failed .
On January 3, 1946, William Joyce was hanged at Wandsworth Prison by executioner Albert Pierrepoint . His body was buried in an unmarked grave in the prison burial ground .
3. The Exhumation (1976)
In 1976, Wandsworth Prison authorities decided to clear the old execution burial ground to make space for new facilities . All unmarked graves of executed prisoners were exhumed under Home Office supervision. Joyce’s remains were positively identified through prison records, coffin position, and surviving personal effects .
The exhumation was not driven by scandal or conspiracy—it was a routine administrative act that happened to involve one of Britain’s most hated wartime figures .
4. The Reburial in Galway
Joyce’s body was not reburied in Wandsworth. Instead, his daughter Heather Isernhinke, who had campaigned for years to have her father’s remains returned to a proper grave, arranged for private reburial .
On August 18, 1976, the remains were reinterred in Bohermore Cemetery, Galway, Ireland—Joyce’s ancestral home region . The reburial was low-key, attended only by family and a few supporters . A simple headstone was placed reading:
William Joyce
Lord Haw-Haw
*1906–1946*
5. The Controversy
The move to Ireland was controversial. Some British newspapers called it “rewarding a traitor,” while Irish nationalists saw it as returning a native son—despite Joyce’s American birth and pro-Nazi actions . Joyce had been a staunch Empire Loyalist and had fought for the British against Irish nationalists in his youth, making his final resting place in Ireland deeply ironic .
6. The Legacy of a Traitor
William Joyce remains the last person executed for treason in the United Kingdom. His case is often cited in legal discussions about citizenship, allegiance, and the limits of state power in wartime . The exhumation and reburial of his remains reflect the complex legacy of a man who was both a traitor and a figure of enduring historical fascination.
Primary Sources:
RTÉ Archives — “Galway Grave for Lord Haw-Haw” (1976)
Galway Library Archives — Connacht Tribune coverage (1976)
The Guardian — “Lord Haw-Haw Hanged” (1946)
University of Sheffield — William Joyce biography
Crime+Investigation UK — The Aftermath