Old Men Forget

by Duff Cooper

Old Men Forget is a 1953 autobiography by Duff Cooper, Viscount Norwich, detailing his Victorian childhood, Edwardian youth, and prominent place in 20th century British literature, politics, diplomacy and the army.

The title is taken from a famous speech by the King in William Shakespeare's Henry V.

Genres: Biography, Autobiography

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, GCMG, DSO, PC

Reviews

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This autobiography by Duff Cooper is mostly political, recounting his time as Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty under Neville Chamberlain, Minister of Information under Churchill, and ambassador to France during and after the Second World War. He also served for a short time in the trenches in the First World War.

There is very little on his personal life and family. His wife was very artistically inclined and was in in many theatrical productions (the book Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation features her among others).

Like most autobiographies I did find it self-serving at times – reading in between the lines I felt that Duff Cooper had a drinking problem.

The most poignant passages in the book concern those of Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement at Munich in 1938. Duff Cooper could not abide this and agonizingly resigned his cabinet post. We feel the divisiveness and tensions that ensued during this era just before war began.

Churchill sent Duff Cooper, along with his wife Diana, to access the situation in Singapore in August of 1941. He and Diana left just in time in January,1942 as the Japanese forces had landed in Malaysia north of Singapore, and had also sunk two major British battleships (The Repulse and Prince of Wales) off the coast. The journey home was long and arduous. I could not grasp from reading, what, if anything, was accomplished by this trip to Singapore.

He than provides us with a first-hand account of his tempestuous relations with that most difficult personality General de Gaulle. He was appointed ambassador to France serving first in Algiers and then, with the liberation of France, in Paris until 1947. Duff Cooper was fluent in French. Interestingly he wanted a strong economic and military relationship with France. I am quite sure he would have been in favour of the European Union.

I found this part amusing, on his attendance at a League of Nations committee in 1928.

Page 163 (my book)

Among the committees [at the League of Nations] upon which I was assigned to serve was one charged with the duty of dealing on an international basis with the evils of alcoholism. Our first meeting was in the evening, and before proceedings started we were served with port and other aperitifs. After the danger of alcohol had been roundly denounced by all, our chairman, a Frenchman, explained that wine of course was not alcohol nor, for that matter, were the products of the Cognac district, which were all derived from the grape. His views were warmly supported by the representatives of Italy, Portugal, and Spain. I then felt bound to remind the meeting that, while I entirely shared the views of the previous speakers, my country did not enjoy the quantity of sunshine as blessed their happier lands, and that its inhabitants had even greater need than had their fellow creatures of that internal warmth and stimulus which the fermented juice of the grape bestows. Unfortunately the vine did not flourish in Great Britain, but we had made an effort, especially in the northern and coldest part of the kingdom, to produce a substitute, which had been found so satisfactory that we were now able to export it in considerable quantities to foreign countries, and I felt confident that this agreeable and beneficent beverage [I am assuming beer and ales], … would not come within the purview of our inquiries.

[Daniel Oon Yong Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book that I would chance upon in a library or any club. It's been more than 60 years since it has been published.

The Viscount Norwich, Duff Cooper was the only person in Chamberlain's govt to constantly oppose his appeasement policies toward Nazi Germany. When I got to know of it, it really intrigued me. Why would the First Sea Lord quit, yet no one went with him?

This autobiography is one book that taught me much and then some.

[Nick Pengelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duff Cooper was one of the great men of the 20th century - he was, for instance, the only member of Chamberlain's cabinet to resign in protest after the Munich farce of "peace in our time". It was fascinating to read his autobiography straight after reading his wife's. Both are brilliant, natural writers, but Diana is both more emotional and detailed, offering more insight and background on their experiences, travels and the people they knew. Duff's more of an overview man, and, I think, concerned not to offend some people then still living, like Churchill (obviously a very good friend in any case) and De Gaulle - although the enormous frustrations he encountered in dealing with the general do come through. A thoroughly good read.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This autobiography by Duff Cooper is mostly political, recounting his time as Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty under Neville Chamberlain, Minister of Information under Churchill, and ambassador to France during and after the Second World War. He also served for a short time in the trenches in the First World War.

There is very little on his personal life and family. His wife was very artistically inclined and was in in many theatrical productions (the book Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation features her among others).

Like most autobiographies I did find it self-serving at times – reading in between the lines I felt that Duff Cooper had a drinking problem.

The most poignant passages in the book concern those of Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement at Munich in 1938. Duff Cooper could not abide this and agonizingly resigned his cabinet post. We feel the divisiveness and tensions that ensued during this era just before war began.

Churchill sent Duff Cooper, along with his wife Diana, to access the situation in Singapore in August of 1941. He and Diana left just in time in January,1942 as the Japanese forces had landed in Malaysia north of Singapore, and had also sunk two major British battleships (The Repulse and Prince of Wales) off the coast. The journey home was long and arduous. I could not grasp from reading, what, if anything, was accomplished by this trip to Singapore.

He than provides us with a first-hand account of his tempestuous relations with that most difficult personality General de Gaulle. He was appointed ambassador to France serving first in Algiers and then, with the liberation of France, in Paris until 1947. Duff Cooper was fluent in French. Interestingly he wanted a strong economic and military relationship with France. I am quite sure he would have been in favour of the European Union.

I found this part amusing, on his attendance at a League of Nations committee in 1928.

Page 163 (my book)

Among the committees [at the League of Nations] upon which I was assigned to serve was one charged with the duty of dealing on an international basis with the evils of alcoholism. Our first meeting was in the evening, and before proceedings started we were served with port and other aperitifs. After the danger of alcohol had been roundly denounced by all, our chairman, a Frenchman, explained that wine of course was not alcohol nor, for that matter, were the products of the Cognac district, which were all derived from the grape. His views were warmly supported by the representatives of Italy, Portugal, and Spain. I then felt bound to remind the meeting that, while I entirely shared the views of the previous speakers, my country did not enjoy the quantity of sunshine as blessed their happier lands, and that its inhabitants had even greater need than had their fellow creatures of that internal warmth and stimulus which the fermented juice of the grape bestows. Unfortunately the vine did not flourish in Great Britain, but we had made an effort, especially in the northern and coldest part of the kingdom, to produce a substitute, which had been found so satisfactory that we were now able to export it in considerable quantities to foreign countries, and I felt confident that this agreeable and beneficent beverage [I am assuming beer and ales], … would not come within the purview of our inquiries.

[Brian Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

I acquired Old Men Forget: The Autobiography of Duff Cooper for insight into the Churchill years of the Second World War and was initially disappointed that the book was the story of Cooper’s life. However, despite a thought of skipping the first portion of the book, I persevered; and I was ultimately glad to have read the book in its entirety. The first few chapters cover his early life, as expected, and his service in the First World War. It also provides an unabashed view into the upbringing of a typical posh boy destined to play his part in ruling the nation. For instance, here is his view on class: “There are even those who would, if they could, create a classless society. If such a society were possible it would be as useless as a rankles army and as dull as a wine-list that gave neither the names of the vineyards nor the dates of the vintage.” (p. 66) So much goes unsaid in those two sentences! And then this: “I have always had a great respect for the political judgment of women, although I have never thought that the House of Commons was the right arena in which they should display it.” (p. 251) Lest I should with this review dissuade you from taking up this volume, I need to emphasize that it is ultimately an amazing book, an insider’s guide to the British government during the Second World War. The text is greatly enriched by extensive verbatim entries from Cooper’s contemporary diaries and letters. Cooper had a front row, even a participant’s seat, in the political machinations involving the allies and France. Indeed, Cooper may be said to have had the best relations with the ever-prickly Charles de Gaulle, about whom Cooper writes: “This curious ineptitude for happiness has proved an unfortunate quality in the character of a remarkable man and has contributed to the failure of his career.” (p. 342) Earlier, he mentions dining with the general, “It should have been a gala evening, but gala is not a word included in the vocabulary of General de Gaulle.” (p. 339) Nevertheless, the portion of the book dealing with de Gaulle’s on-again/off-again radio speech on the eve of D-day is remarkable. If you’re interested in this book you are probably already aware that Cooper served as the British ambassador to France immediately upon liberation. His service was so valuable that he kept that position even after Churchill and the Conservative Party were swept from power in the 1945 general election. So I recommend this book on two fronts: first, as a history of British government actions during the Second World war; and secondly, as a snapshot of British society in the first half of the 20th century.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine memoir of an important place and time—England, mostly between the Wars. Cooper was from a respectable family, attended Eton and Oxford (about which this memoir has little to say), and married Diana Mansnrs, reputedly one of the most beautiful women of her generation. The book becomes quite lively as Cooper discusses their courtship and continues thence to discuss his storied career. He began as a junior clerk in the Foreign Office just before WWI, though he eventually enlisted, seeing action in 1918, when among other things he managed more-or-less single-handedly to capture what must have been the equivalent of the German platoon. He returned to the Foreign Office after the War and eventually ran for Parliament as a Tory. As First Lord of the Admiralty, he served in Churchill’s War Cabinet and provided valuable service in Singapore, North Africa, and eventually France during and after the War. He evidently knew everyone, and the book is rich in personal anecdote. It is also very well written, now and then lyrical (as in the very fine concluding paragraph) but never obtrusively so: his main task is to describe what he saw during the most momentous decades of the twentieth century and give a sense of how decisions were made and how, not infrequently, events escaped the control or influence of those trying to guide them.

One should say as well that Cooper is an attractive figure not least for being a man of principle: he was the only member of Chamberlain’s cabinet to resign in protest against the Prime Minister’s appeasement of Hitler. It was a courageous decision, shown to be prophetic when eventually Hitler revealed his true colors by invading Poland. Nevertheless, Cooper shows time and again a warm humanity that allows him to flexible when he can in order to get along with others.

A remarkable memoir of a remarkable—and illuminating—life.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an interesting man. Enjoyed reading about the life and times of this conservative politician.

[Wector Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be able to write like Duff…