"after the publication of hyde park in 1938 support for aldred in london fell off and he had burned his bridges in london and glasgow, but then an extraordinary chance ended his days of poverty. sir walter strickland, a millionaire whose family practically owned malta, had during the first world war taken to him and was disgusted with the british government after the versailles treaty. in acknowledgment of the newly created state of czechoslovakia, the first fruits of league of nations liberal idealism, strickland became naturalised czech (1923), though he never went to that country. in 1938 strickland died and left a fortune to aldred, who promptly formed the strickland press, bought a hall, bookshop and machinery and proceeded reprinting all his old pamphlets, before actually getting the money. then the strickland relatives brought a suit saying the will was invalid. strickland had said in his will he left the money to aldred "for socialist and atheist propaganda", illegal under czech law. there was a complicated legal case which ended as such things usually do, with the money in the hands of the lawyers. aldred, used to defending his own cases personally and handling courts with ease on matters of obstruction and sedition, found himself outgunned among the moneyed lawyers."