I remember once he was speaking to someone in Greek, and a bystander asked another Greek person what Gough was saying. He replied that he could not understand because Gough was speaking classical Greek.

He had a far longer and richer old age than his old nemesis John Kerr, according to historian Phillip Knightley : "The remaining years of Sir John Kerr's life were miserable ones. He was subject to relentless harassment whenever he appeared in public. He therefore moved to London, where he could be seen most days, usually the worse for wear, at one or another gentleman's club."