Jack Armstrong was a folk musician of some considerable consequence. His dedication to Northumberland’s folk-traditions made him particularly well-known throughout the North of England through three distinct aspects of musicianship; as a player of the Northumbrian Small Pipes, as a Small Pipes instrument builder and as a fiddle player, particularly coupled with his folk dance band the Northumbrian Barnstormers. But it was not only in the north of England that he was appreciated; his recordings with the Barnstormers were enjoyed throughout the country and became particularly popular with folk dance and country dance enthusiasts. Jack was born in 1904 in Wideopen, Northumberland and took up the Small Pipes in 1927. He developed a steady and distinctive style that won him numerous awards and in 1949 he was appointed “Piper to the Duke of Northumberland,” an honorary position going back 250 years. As an instrument maker he made some 70 sets of Small Pipes with such care in their turning that they became greatly treasured by players.