Letters sent from prison by William Joyce to Ethel Scrimgeour
Scope & Content:
The letters cover the period 23 Jun 1945-2 Jan 1946, the day before Joyce's execution. Joyce writes of his pre-war visits to Ethel and her brother, Alex’s, houses; news of Joyce's wife, Margaret; his fears for post-war Germany and the British people, and of Russia’s intentions; his deep apprecia...
Cole made extensive use of the information Margaret provided in these letters when he published his biography of William Joyce. Cole had met Margaret at Sennelager displaced persons camp, where he was chief interrogator and to where Margaret had been sent after Joyce’s execution.
Extracts from William Joyce’s prison letters to Margaret Joyce
Scope & Content:
The extracts were prepared by Margaret Joyce for use by J A Cole in his biography of William Joyce, and are heavily annotated by Cole. For Cole’s instructions to Margaret on the type of extracts and quotations he is looking for, see his letter of 5 Oct 1960 in Add MS 89481/2/1.
Miscellaneous papers relating to J A Cole’s biography of William Joyce
Scope & Content:
Includes the memorandum of agreement between Margaret Joyce, J A Cole, and Faber and Faber, an outline chronology of William Joyce’s life, and papers relating to royalties and serialisation fees due to Margaret Joyce.
Includes a postcard from Margaret and William Joyce to ‘Mr and Mrs White’ [Margaret's parents, Ernest and Mabel White?], a poem addressed to ‘Bobbi’, a postcard from Hilde Puscz, a postcard from ‘Baby’, and correspondence with Ethel Scrimgeour.
Includes Margaret Joyce’s birth certificate; Gem’s from Shakespeare’s Comedies with diary entries for 4-6 June 1945 and a day-by-day list of events from 19 Nov 1945 to 3 Jan 1946 (the day of William Joyce’s execution); a handmade pamphlet containing epigrams and verse; a handmade pamphlet ‘The Gi...
Contains diaries for June-July 1945 (pocket), Sep-Nov 1945 (loose leaf), Jan-Aug 1946 (loose leaf, written on cigarette paper, with a photostatic copy), and 1946 (pocket) kept while in prison in Brussels and Sennelager displaced persons camp.