HAW HAW



This month the Reading Group tackled a biography: “Haw Haw, the Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce.” To be honest I’m no fan of biographies; they’re generally fairly tedious and whilst they allow some scope for speculation, the imagination and atmosphere that dominate any fictional work (and even some autobiographies) is inevitably missing. Moreover, reading the life story of the great and famous is one thing, reading that of the infamous is another.

Nonetheless, I did note with interest that Lord Haw Haw (already a divorcee when they married in 1937) and Margaret divorced each other after four and a half years, only to remarry some six months later. It is not of course unheard of for divorcees to re-unite, but it is more common to rue one’s mistake at the altar than subsequently for seeking a Decree Absolute.

Who knows if Mr and Mrs Joyce’s second marriage would have survived the cessation of hostilities, had they not been captured and a trial for treason intervened. Certainly their arguments, drinking sessions and extra marital relationships continued. I have been practising long enough to have divorced a number of clients twice, and whilst rarely has this been from the same spouse, it does happen and usually for the same reasons as the first time around.

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