[Robbie Ross; Oscar Wilde; Nigel de Grey; Bletchley Park & Heinemann] Autograph Note Signed Robert Ross to Nigel de Grey (Heinemann's, Eminent De-Coder) giving his response to the end of his case against Crosland, Lord Alfred Douglas's friend .

Letter, basically three lines, short but significant, cr.8vo, crumpled, fold marks, text clear and complete. See Image. . Dear Nigel de Grey | How very kind of you to write to me. Both friend & stranger have done their best to break my fall. & I have no regret to complain, but I rather collapsed after the verdict. | Most surely yours, | Robert Ross. Note: A, Douglas and his friend Crosland began a campaign of libel against Robert Ross. Ross v. Crosland April-June 1914 Following a long campaign of harassment, Ross finally went to court. He was well advised by Sir George Lewis not to file any libel actions that touched on the issue of his sexuality. Ross found an opportunity, however, to sue for conspiring to induce a witness to file a false police statement. (The witness was a young man who claimed to have been kissed and fondled by Ross.) Douglas was out of the country, so Ross filed his lawsuit against Crosland alone. It was clear that Crosland and Douglas were on a vendetta against Ross. But Ross had the misfortune of drawing Justice Horace Avory, who had acted for the prosecution in Wilde’s criminal trials. Not only was Avory prejudiced against anyone associated with Wilde, he had an apparent dislike of F.E. Smith who led the prosecution. Crosland was defended by Cecil Hayes, and supported financially by Douglas’s mother. At issue was whether or not Crosland believed the boy was lying. Crosland was found not guilty. Bolstered by his success, Crosland went on to sue Ross for wrongful prosecution. This time Crosland lost. [Laura Lee, Oscar's Ghost]; B. Nigel de Grey was still perhaps working at publishers William Heinemann at this point in time but was soon to become an eminent code-breaker: In early 1915 he was transferred to Naval Intelligence Division, Room 40 codebreaking section. He, Dilly Knox and Reverend William Montgomery decrypted the Zimmermann Telegram on 17 January 1917 [...]. Later to work at Bletchley.~1600~BLETCHLEY PARK ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAPH DECODED OSCAR WILDE LORD ALFRED DOUGLAS~ ~0~SF43~ ~ ~ ~ ~