William Joyce real name to his listeners; and he would occasionally be announced as "William Joyce, otherwise known as Lord Haw-Haw". Urban legends soon circulated about Lord Haw-Haw, alleging that the broadcaster was well-informed about political and military events to the point of near-omniscience. Although listening to his broadcasts was officially discouraged (but not illegal), many Britons heard the broadcasts. At the height of his influence, in 1940, Joyce had an estimated six million regular and 18 million occasional listeners in the United Kingdom. The broadcasts always began with the announcer's words, "Germany calling, Germany calling, Germany calling". These broadcasts urged the
1940 to 1944 English cricket seasons 1940 to 1944 English cricket seasons All first-class cricket was cancelled in the 1940 to 1944 English cricket seasons because of the Second World War; no first-class matches were played in England after Friday, 1 September 1939 until Saturday, 19 May 1945. Ten matches were cancelled at the end of the 1939 English cricket season due to the German invasion of Poland on 1 September and the British government’s declaration of war against Germany on Sunday 3 September. Although eleven first-class matches were arranged during the 1945 season following the final defeat of Germany in early May, it was not