Among British composers, his greatest passion was for Delius (he was an adviser to the Delius Trust from 1961, and later the President of the Society), and he was on amicable terms with Benjamin Britten, William Walton and Michael Tippett: while at the LPO, he was instrumental in arranging the premiere of Tippett's "A Child of Our Time" in 1944. Other friends included the conductors Thomas Beecham, Victor de Sabata, Roger Désormière, Ernest Ansermet and Charles Münch, as well as the singer Maggie Teyte, the cellist Pierre Fournier, the pianist Monique Haas, and the composer Florent Schmitt.