William Joyce was born in New York
City on 24th April 1906. His mother was English and his father
was a naturalized Irishman. He lived for a time in Ireland
as a child and in 1922 he emigrated to England with his family. He
attended the University of London where he graduated with a first
class honours degree.
In
1923 Joyce joined the British
Fascisti
(BF).
Its leader, Miss
Rotha Lintorn-Orman later said: "I
saw the need for an organization of disinterested patriots, composed
of all classes and all Christian creeds, who would be ready to serve
their country in any emergency." Members of the British Fascists
had been horrified by the Russian
Revolution. However, they had gained inspiration from what Benito
Mussolini
had
done it Italy.
The BF
were unpopular in some areas and Joyce often acted as a steward at
public meetings. On 22nd October 1924 Joyce was on duty at a meeting
at Lambeth. He became involved in a fight and received a razor cut
from the corner of his mouth to behind his right ear.
In
1925 Maxwell Knight, the Director of Intelligence
of the British
Fascisti,
was recruited by MI5.
He was placed in charge of B5b, a unit that conducted the monitoring
of political subversion. Knight recruited a large number of his agents
from right-wing political organizations. It was later discovered that
Joyce was one of MI5's agents. Over the next few years Joyce provided
Knight with information he had about the activities of the Communist
Party and other left-wing groups.
Like
other members of the British
Fascisti,
Joyce had a deep hatred of Jews and Communists. He claimed that his
facial wound had been caused by a "Jewish Communist". He
also blamed his failure to complete his MA on a Jewish woman tutor.
In
early 1933 Joyce joined the British Union
of Fascists (BUF) led by Oswald Mosley.
The BUF argued for a programme of economic revival based on government
spending and protectionism. By 1934 Mosley was expressing strong anti-Semitic
views and provocative marches through Jewish
districts in London lead to riots.
Mosley
attracted members from other right-wing groups such as the British
Fascisti,
National Fascists and the Imperial Fascist League. By 1934 the BUF
had 40,000 members and was able to establish its own drinking clubs
and football teams. The BUF also gained the support of Lord
Rothermere and the Daily Mail.
Oswald
Mosley appointed Joyce as
the party full-time Propaganda Director. Joyce, along with Mosley
and Mick Clarke, were the organisations three main public speakers.
On 7th June, the BUF held a large rally ay Olympia. About 500 anti-fascists
managed to get inside the hall. When they began heckling Mosley they
were attacked by 1,000 black-shirted stewards. Several of the protesters
were badly beaten by the fascists. There was a public outcry about
this violence and Lord Rothermere withdrew
his support of the BUF. Over the next few months membership went into
decline.
Under
the influence of Joyce the
BUP became increasingly anti-Semitic. The
verbal attacks on the Jewish community
led to violence at meetings and demonstrations.