A Look Back to the 1970s and 1980s
Written by Chris Warrell for our Winter 2026 Newsletter
In our 50th year, I thought it was time to have a look back at some old photos from the first decade or so from the club archive.
Chris Warrell’s Centurion tank
There are no photos from our first meeting on 24th July 1976, but I discovered this picture (actually a slide) in a box of slides dated June 1976, that I haven’t looked at in many years. I brought the model — a remote controlled Centurion tank — to the first meeting.
Our second meeting
This was our second meeting in October 1976. From left to right we have Peter Clay, Geoff Davison, Adrian Ashford, Richard Greenshield and Charles Yearsley. Richard had joined us that day, having seen a board advertising the club outside the hall.
Neil Bedford with his mobile crane at our first exhibition in September 1979
Our stand at the Memorial Hospital fete in August 1980
Pictured at our stand at the Memorial Hospital fete in August 1980 are (left to right seated) Adrian Ashford, Chris Warrell, David Smithers, (left to right standing) Neil Bedford (top left), Stan Bedford (partly obscured) and John Adams.
Martin Clark with his robotic arm at our fourth exhibition on 2nd October 1982
In our Spring 2026 newsletter we’ll revisit the 1990s — if you can’t wait then see our SELMEC Snapshots series: 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s