Richard Armstrong (Writer) Biography, Update, Age, Death, Selected Works

Richard Armstrong (18 June 1903 – 30 May 1986) was an English writer who published books for both adults and children. Many of his novels are sea stories. He won the 1948 Carnegie Medal for Sea Change, which was named the year’s best children’s book by a British author. Armstrong also wrote a biography of Grace Darling, Grace Darling: Maid and Myth (1965), where he questioned the traditional account of her story. His book covers often call him an “author and mariner.”

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Age

Richard was born on 18 June 1903 in Walbottle, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland.

Here is a simple table showing his basic personal details:

Biography & Life

Ralph Richard Armstrong was born in Walbottle, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, on 18 June 1903. The son of a blacksmith, he left school at thirteen to work in a Tyneside steelworks. He spent three years there, starting as an errand boy and later working as a greaser, labourer, and crane driver. His book Sabotage at the Forge (1946), set in a steelworks, is praised for its realistic portrayal of a boy’s life in that setting. The Whinstone Drift (1951) is also known for its convincing depiction of Northumberland’s coal-mining community.

After the First World War, Armstrong joined the Merchant Service and spent seventeen years at sea on different types of ships. This experience later inspired his seafaring books. He left the Merchant Service in 1937 and tried several jobs before focusing on writing. His first book, The Mystery of Obadiah (1943), is an adventure story set in Tynedale with a 13-year-old main character, Thias Stringer. Its sequel, Sabotage at the Forge, follows Stringer at the steelworks. Armstrong later wrote about his time at sea, covering topics like cargo steamers (Passage Home), oil tankers (No Time for Tankers), and whalers (The Secret Sea).

Armstrong had a son named John, and he dedicated his book Sailor’s Luck to him. Armstrong 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)

Death

Richard died on 30 May 1986 at the age of 82.