further its interests, the bureau held weekly meetings at Hyde Park, where members discussed labour strikes in the Caribbean and Ethiopia. It also supplied speakers to branches of the Labour Party, trade unions and the League of Nations Union and provided questions to be asked in front of Parliament regarding legislation, working conditions and trade union regulations. During this time, the WAYL started to unravel, as no individual was capable of leading the organisation as Wallace-Johnson had. Membership declined as employers and government officials threatened members with job dismissal or physical violence. The acting organising secretary stated that it was difficult to get back these members, since they were so dependent on their employers or the government. It was reported that in some branches, only five or six members would show up at meetings. In his absence, Wallace-Johnson's political enemies spread a great deal of anti-WAYL propaganda. He wanted to return to the Gold Coast as soon as possible to resuscitate the organisation, but he lacked the necessary funds for travel. His insufficient funds also affected his work in London, but nonetheless, he pursued claims on behalf of Gold Coast citizens. Eventually, his financial situation was so poor that he couldn't afford bus fare or meals and was even evicted from his room after he failed to pay the rent. Feeling increasingly despondent about his situation, Wallace-Johnson wrote in January 1938: He decided to return to Sierra Leone, after resigning as organising secretary of the IASB after being accused of stealing money from the organisation. Bridgeman and Wallace-Johnson's other colleagues recommended that he return to West Africa only after his appeal case had been presented before the Privy Council and even offered to pay for expenses. In this period, Wallace-Johnson also contributed to Sylvia Pankhurst's pan-Africanist weekly The New Times and Ethiopia News, a paper that was susbsequently banned in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone politics Wallace-Johnson returned to Freetown in April 1938 for what he believed would be a short visit. He planned to return to England to pack up his belongings and then move to the United States, where he would not have to "bother about Africa any more as it is apparent that the people of Africa were not prepared to make a move". He was still upset about his political experiences in the Gold Coast and even considered withdrawing from political activism entirely, but he came to