Richard Armstrong (18 June 1903 – 30 May 1986) was an English writer who wrote for both adults and children. Most of his books were novels set at sea, or sea stories. For one of those, '' Sea Change'', he won the 1948 Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. He is also known for a biography of

Grace Darling Grace Horsley Darling (also known as "Amazing Grace"; 24 November 1815 – 20 October 1842) was an English lighthouse keeper's daughter. Her participation in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked ''Forfarshire'' in 1838 brought her nat ...

in which he challenges the conventional story: ''Grace Darling: Maid and Myth'' (1965). He is often described on the cover of his books as "author and mariner".

Biography

Ralph Richard Armstrong was born in

Walbottle Walbottle is a village in the Newcastle upon Tyne district, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is west of Newcastle upon Tyne. History The village name, recorded in 1176 as "Walbotl", is derived from the Old English ''botl'' (buildin ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, Northumberland on 18 June 1903. He was a blacksmith's son who left school at thirteen to work in a

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

steelworks A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

. He spent three years there, starting as an errand boy and progressing to greaser, labourer and crane driver. His book ''Sabotage at the Forge'' (1946), set in a steelworks, is highly regarded for its accurate and effective description of a boy's experience in such an environment. Similarly, ''The Whinstone Drift'' (1951) is convincingly set against a Northumberland

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

background. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he went to sea in the Merchant Service and for seventeen years sailed in many types of vessel, gaining the experience which he later put to use in his books about seafaring. In 1937 he left the Merchant Service and pursued various occupations before concentrating on writing. His first published book was ''The Mystery of Obadiah'' (1943), an adventure novel set in Tynedale and featuring Thias Stringer, a 13-year-old boy. ''Sabotage at the Forge'' was its sequel, featuring Stringer at the steelworks. Later he drew on his wide-ranging experiences at sea, writing about, for example, cargo steamers (''Passage Home''), oil tankers (''No Time for Tankers''), and whalers (''The Secret Sea''). Armstrong had a son, John, to whom he dedicated his book ''Sailor's Luck''. He died in 1986.

Selected works

;Adult novels * ''The Northern Maid'' (1947) *''Passage Home'' (1952) - Film 1955 *''Sailor's Luck'' (1959) ;Children's novels * ''The Mystery of Obadiah'' (1943) * ''Sabotage at the Forge'' (1946) * '' Sea Change'' (1948) * ''The Whinstone Drift'' (1951) *''Danger Rock'' (1955); U.S. title, ''Cold Hazard'' * ''The Lost Ship'' (1956) *''No Time for Tankers'' (1959) *''The Lame Duck'' (1961) * ''Island Odyssey'' (1963) *''The Secret Sea'' (1966) *''The Mutineers'' (1968) * ''The Albatross'' (1970) ;Nonfiction *''Grace Darling: Maid and Myth'' (1965) * ''A History of Seafaring'' (London: Benn, 1967–69) – three 128-page volumes with maps and diagrams : Volume 1: ''The Early Mariners'' : Volume 2: ''The Discoverers'' : Volume 3: ''The Merchantmen'' *''Themselves Alone: The story of men in empty places'' (1972) *''Powered Ships'' (1975)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Richard 1903 births 1986 deaths English children's writers Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Maritime writers Writers from Newcastle upon Tyne Crane operators 20th-century English novelists British Merchant Navy personnel

Biography

Selected works

See also

References