Lambton Park and NELSAM
The North East Vintage & Veteran Aircraft Association was founded in 1974 by three vintage aircraft enthusiasts: Malcolm Scott, John Stelling and Tony Blenkinsop. Later, in May 1977, the group changed its name to Northumbrian Aeronautical Collection and in 1979, to the North East Aircraft Museum (NEAM). In 2012, the military vehicles museum moved from Exhibition Park in Newcastle to NEAM and together they formed the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums (NELSAM).
In March 1975, the group’s first acquisition was of a Dragonfly helicopter and it was transported to the group’s first site which was in Lambton Lion Park. In May 1975, a 1948 Gloster Meteor F.8 plane was purchased from the M.O.D. and brought to the park. More acquisitions soon followed. Early photographs from the mid-1970s show that the group’s aircraft were stored close to Lambton Castle itself.
Above: The 1948 Gloster Meteor F.8 in the shadow of Lambton Castle
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In February 1976, the group had found a more suitable site at what was then Sunderland Municipal Airport and the collection was moved to this site from Lambton Lion Park.
More history on the group and their aircraft can be found on their website: