His first book, The Machine Gunners, issued by Macmillan in 1975, told a Second World War story about English children who find "a crashed German bomber in the woods complete with machine gun". Westall was inspired to be a writer by telling his son Christopher stories about his experiences in the Second World War. Westall acted as a branch director of Samaritans in 1966–1975, while writing for papers such as Cheshire Life and The Cheshire Chronicle, and for The Guardian as an art critic. Westall then became a teacher, serving as Head of Art and Head of Careers at Sir John Deane's Grammar School in Northwich, Cheshire. From 1953 until 1955, Westall did national service in the British Army as a Lance Corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art at Durham University and a post-graduate degree in Sculpture at the Slade School of Art in London in 1957. He grew up there on Tyneside during the Second World War, which he used as the setting for many of his novels, including his own life. Robert Westall was born 7 October 1929 in North Shields, Northumberland. Westall also won a second Carnegie (no one has yet won three), a Smarties Prize, and the once-in-a-lifetime Guardian Prize. It was named among the top ten Medal-winners at the 70th anniversary celebration in 2007.
His first book, The Machine Gunners, won the 1975 Carnegie Medal for the year's outstanding children's book by a British subject. He has been called "the dean of British war novelists".
Some of the latter cover complex, dark, and adult themes. Robert Atkinson Westall (7 October 1929 – 15 April 1993) was an English author and teacher known for fiction aimed at children and young people.
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