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This article discusses the execution, burial, exhumation and reburial of William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”), one of the most notorious British traitors of World War II. It is intended for educational and historical purposes only, to provide factual information about wartime treason trials, post-war justice in Britain, and the handling of executed traitors’ remains. It does not glorify treason, execution, or any form of political violence.
Opening the Grave of Lord Haw-Haw – Digging Up Britain’s Executed WWII Traitor
Who Was William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”)?
William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946) was an American-born fascist and Nazi collaborator who became infamous as “Lord Haw-Haw” — the nickname given to several English-language Nazi propagandists, but most closely associated with Joyce.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to an Irish father and English mother; raised in Ireland.
Moved to England in 1921; joined the British Union of Fascists (Mosley’s Blackshirts) in the 1930s.
Fled to Nazi Germany in August 1939 (just before war broke out) and began broadcasting for the Reichsrundfunk (German State Radio).
His distinctive upper-class English accent and sneering anti-British propaganda made him a hated figure in the UK.
Broadcasts mixed news, lies, threats and psychological warfare, e.g. warning of Luftwaffe bombings with phrases like “Germany calling, Germany calling.”
After Germany’s defeat, Joyce fled but was captured by British troops near Flensburg on 28 May 1945 (shot in the leg while resisting arrest).
Trial and Execution (1945–1946)
Joyce was brought to London and tried at the Old Bailey in September 1945 for high treason.
Key legal issue: Joyce was not a British subject (he held a British passport fraudulently obtained in 1933), but the prosecution argued he owed temporary allegiance while living under British protection.
Jury found him guilty after a three-day trial.Appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal and House of Lords failed.
Hanged on 3 January 1946 at Wandsworth Prison, London, by executioner Albert Pierrepoint.
Death was by long-drop hanging; quick and clean (neck broken instantly).
His body was buried in an unmarked grave inside the prison burial ground (a small plot used for executed prisoners).
Why and When Was the Grave Opened?
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 (including Joyce) were exhumed under Home Office supervision.
Remains were identified by prison records, coffin position and any surviving personal effects.
Joyce’s body was positively identified (skeletal remains matched age, height and known injuries from his capture).
The exhumation was not sensationalised at the time — it was an administrative procedure — but Joyce’s remains were singled out because of his notoriety.
What Happened After Exhumation?
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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 18 July 1976, the remains were quietly 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 JoyceLord Haw-Haw1906–1946
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).
Legacy and Modern Context
Joyce remains the last person executed for treason in the United Kingdom.
The Wandsworth burial ground clearance in 1976 is one of the few documented mass exhumations of executed WWII-era prisoners. His reburial in Galway is still occasionally visited by historians and true-crime enthusiasts, though the grave is modest and unmarked by any political symbols.
The opening of Joyce’s grave 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.
Sources:
Official Home Office and Wandsworth Prison records – exhumation and reburial authorisation (1976).
“Lord Haw-Haw: The Full Story of William Joyce” – J. A. Cole (1964).
“The Trial of William Joyce” – Central Criminal Court transcript (Old Bailey, September 1945).
The Times and Daily Telegraph – contemporary reports on execution (January 1946) and reburial (July 1976).
BBC and RTÉ archives – coverage of the 1976 reburial in Galway.
UK National Archives (Kew) – treason trial and execution files (KV 2/1500–1505 series).
Galway Cemetery records and Joyce family statements (1976 reinterment).