Richard Armstrong: Steelworker, Mariner, and Award-Winning Storyteller

Richard Armstrong (1903–1986) wrote thrilling sea stories for both adults and children. He won the 1948 Carnegie Medal for his novel Sea Change. His own life at sea and in a Northumberland steelworks shaped many of his tales. Born in Walbottle, Newcastle upon Tyne, on 18 June 1903, he left school at thirteen to work in a local steelworks. After World War I, he joined the Merchant Service and spent seventeen years sailing on cargo steamers, oil tankers, and whalers. Armstrong’s first book, The Mystery of Obadiah (1943), introduces young Thias Stringer and was followed by Sabotage at the Forge. His adult novels include Passage Home (1952) and Sailor’s Luck (1959). He also explored real-life legend in Grace Darling: Maid and Myth (1965). Among his notable works are Sea Change, The Whinstone Drift, The Secret Sea, and the three-volume A History of Seafaring.

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