From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
REG ARMSTRONG REMEMBERED: Born in 1926 in Liverpool to Irish parents who returned to Dublin in the early 1930s, Reg Armstrong didn't come from a privileged background. However, his father started a successful motor factoring business in Dublin and did his best to support Reg's motorcycle racing career in it's early stages.
That career was far from promising at first. Reg started riding during the 'Emergency' and he and his cousin, Harry Lindsay - who had taught him to ride - both bought 16H Nortons. Together they joined the Defense Forces with the intention of getting their hands o n the petrol ration!
In 1946, Reg acquired a pre-war Manx Norton and made his racing debut at the Bangor Castle races in Northern Ireland in 1946. His second race, the Mid-Antrim 150, a handicap race, produced a fifth place finish. A non-finisher at his first Skerries 100 he then attempted to enter for the 1946 Manx but was refused an entry as his 18th birthday coincided with the junior race.
In the 1947 Senior Manx race he entered his own Norton with a borrowed 500cc engine without success. At last, at the 1948 Skerries 100 he rode an Arter 7R which suited his style. As a result his confidence grew, and he bought a Triumph GP with his cousin Harry. His big break came with an offer from AJS inviting him to ride a Porcupine at Ansty. This was by far the most powerful machine he had ever ridden and Reg did very well to bring it home fourth. Evidently AJS though so too and signed him for the 1949 season. Reg finished fourth in the Swiss GP, fifth in Belgium and also in Holland and third at the Ulster GP, finishing the season with a sixth at Monza before crashing out at Silverstone.
The following years saw Reg consolidate his growing reputation and being rewarded with a place on the Norton team for the 1952 season.
However, a skiing trip to Switzerland with Stanley Woods resulted in both riders injuring themselves. Deciding that it would be better if Norton didn't learn of his injury - a fractured tibia - Reg stayed in Switzerland for two months while it healed. Reg's first ride for Norton was in the 500 cc class in the Leinster 200 which he won. A win in the German GP followed as well as an epic victory in the Manx Senior race, the season being Reg's most successful yet.
By now, Reg had become the agent for NSU and Honda in the Irish Republic. Between 1953 and 1955 Reg rode Gilera and NSU machines successfully but his growing business interests demanded more time and he announced his retirement from motorcycle racing. Reg continued in the sport as an entrant of NSU machines, a whole string of famous riders racing his machines over the next few seasons.
By then Honda had entered motorcycle racing and in 1962 asked Reg to become their team manager. Three World Championships were the result and the following year the team won two more. By now, however, Reg's plant in Ringsend which had been assembling NSUs switched to Opels, Reg having acquired the Irish agency for the German make.
In 1964 Reg tried his hand at car racing driving with limited success. He also had become an expert clay pigeon shot and represented Ireland in the 1978 World Championships in Korea. The following year in November, Reg's car left the road and he died in an unexplained accident while he was returning to his Ashford home. Reg Armstrong, one of Ireland's many motorcycle greats, was a great all-rounder who persisted to become a highly successful rider.