Butlin's

Butlins Skyline Limited

Company type	Private
Industry	Leisure
Founded	1 January 1936(1936-01-01) (First site,Skegness) 9 April 2000(2000-04-09) (As present company)
Founder	Billy Butlin
Headquarters	Hemel Hempstead,Hertfordshire,England
Area served	United Kingdom
Key people	Jon Hendry Pickup (CEO)
Products	Seaside resorts
Brands	Mattel Television characters
Revenue	£184.6m (2010)
Operating income	£17.2m (2010)
Net income	£12.2m (2010)
Owner	Harris Family Trusts
Number of employees	3,571 (2010)
Website	butlins.com

Butlin'sis a chain of largeseaside resortsin the United Kingdom, incorporated asButlins Skyline Limited.Butlin's was founded byBilly Butlinto provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.

Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one inIrelandand one in theBahamas.In the 1970s and 1980s, Butlin's also operated numerous large hotels, including one in Spain, a number of smaller holiday parks in England and France, and a revolving restaurant in thePost Office Towerin London.

Tough competition from overseas package holiday operators, rising operational costs, and rapidly changing demand, forced many of the Butlin's operations to close in the 1980s and 1990s. Three of the original camps remain open under the Butlins brand inBognor Regis,Minehead,andSkegness.They are now owned and run byButlins Skyline Ltd,which is now wholly owned by the Harris Family Trust.

The architecture seen in this 1985 photograph of Butlin's in Ayr was typical of most camps before refurbishment. Note the rows ofchaletsin the distance.

History

Billy Butlin receiving Filey camp back from theRAF,who ran it asRAF Hunmanby Moorduring the Second World War

The Butlins camp at Pwllheli in 1961

Billy Butlin's inspiration for his holiday camp empire came from an unhappy holiday onBarry Islandin his youth, when he had been locked out of hisbed and breakfastaccommodation all day by hislandlady,which was normal practice at the time. The first of the Butlin's holiday camps was opened by Butlin in 1936 inSkegness,following his success in developing amusement parks. A second camp quickly followed inClactonin 1938, and construction ofFiley Holiday Campbegan in 1939. With the outbreak of theSecond World War,building at Filey was postponed, and the camps at Skegness and Clacton were given over for military use. Wartime use of Butlin's camps continued, with resorts atAyr,Filey, andPwllhelibeing completed and opened as military camps. The Ayr camp was later renamedWonderwest World,and is now owned and run byHaven,part ofBourne Leisure,who previously owned both brands.

In 1945, with the war over, Filey was re-opened as a holiday camp. The camps at Skegness and Clacton opened in 1946, Ayr and Pwllheli in 1947 andMosneyon the east coast of Ireland in 1948. Butlin's became popular in post-war Britain, with family entertainment and activities available for the equivalent of a week's pay.

In 1948, Butlin acquired two hotels in the Bahamas, and in the 1950s Butlin's began acquiring hotels in England and Wales:Saltdean,nearBrighton(1953),Blackpool(1955) and five inCliftonville(1955–1956). Further post-war camps were opened in the 1960s atBognor Regis(1960),Minehead(1962) andBarry Island(1966). A site was acquired and permission given for a further camp at Holme Dunes, Norfolk. However, these plans were abandoned after thedevastating floods of 31 January 1953;the site was later purchased by theNorfolk Naturalists Trustin 1965.

The camps at Ayr and Skegness also had separate self-contained hotels within their grounds. In later years, they were joined by further hotels inScarborough(1978),Llandudno(1981), London (1993), a sixth hotel at Cliftonville and one in Spain (1983). In the 1960s and 1970s, the company also operated theTop of the Towerrevolving restaurant at the then-namedPost Office Towerin London.

In 1968, Butlin's son Bobby took over the management of Butlin's, and in 1972 the business was sold to theRank Organisationfor £43 million. The number of camps peaked at ten between 1966 and 1980, but the business experienced the problems being faced by the British seaside holiday industry as a whole, with the introduction of cheappackage holidaystoMediterraneanresortsfrom the 1960s onwards. It also had an image problem of being seen as providing regimented holidays, which caused it to all but abandon the Butlin's name at its remaining resorts between 1987 and 1990.

The camp at Mosney closed in 1982, Clacton and Filey closed in 1983, and the camp at Barry was sold in 1986 (eventually closing in 1996). The lease on theTop of the Towerrestaurant expired in 1980. In 1998, the camps at Ayr and Pwllheli were handed over to Butlin's sister company; Haven. All the Butlin's hotels dating from the 1950s to 1990s were sold in 1998, but most are still open today under different ownership. Theart decostyle Ocean Hotel at Saltdean has been redeveloped into apartments, and the hotels at Cliftonville have both been demolished.

In 1998, the "Holiday Worlds" branding was dropped for the remaining resorts in favour of returning the emphasis to the core Butlin's name. Subsequently, in September 2000,the resorts and brand were sold to Bourne Leisure. A new Butlin's logo was eventually introduced in 1999, which has subsequently undergone several modifications and was used until 2011 when Butlin's introduced a design similar to their original logo. The new logo was originally only intended to be used temporarily to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Butlin's, but its use continued into 2012 and 2013 and is now the official logo.

In 2005, the new £10 million Shoreline hotel was unveiled at the Bognor Regis resort to expand on the existing variety of apartments on the site. The hotel, styled with anArt Decotheme, aimed to offer luxury accommodation in conjunction with the entertainment and facilities at the resort. Each of the 160 rooms features floor-to-ceiling windows, twin or king-size beds, leatherette chairs, televisions,DVD playersanden-suite facilities.Some have sea views. A second site, Ocean Hotel, opened at Bognor in 2009, styled in a high contemporary standard.

In September 2022, it was announced that Blackstone Group that had bought Butlins in 2021 and the Bourne Leisure Group, sold Butlins back to one of the original founding families of Bourne Leisure. In a £300 million deal The Harris Family Trust bought back Butlins, the deal however does not include Butlins property assets as these were sold earlier in the year to the UK’s largest pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme for £300 million.

Locations

Skegness

Bognor Regis

Minehead

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Location of current Butlins holiday camps

Butlins camps past and present

Location	Opened	Closed	Comments
Ayr	1947	1998	Known as Wonderwest World 1988–1998; operated as Craig Tara byHavensince 1999.
Bahamas	1950	Late 1980s	The site is now occupied by a new hotel and marina complex known as Old Bahama Bay.
Barry Island	1966	1986	Operated independently until closure in 1996. Demolished in 2005.
Bognor Regis	1960	Current	Known as Southcoast World 1987–1998. Still open as Butlins Bognor Regis.
Clacton	1938	1983	Demolished, now a housing estate. Small area yet to be redeveloped.
Filey Holiday Camp	1945	1983	Operated independently for six weeks in 1986, but the venture failed and it closed. Gradually demolished between 1988 and 2003. The northern end of the site is now part of theHavencaravan park,Primrose Valley,and the southern end is being developed asThe Bay Filey,comprising holiday homes, leisure and sports facilities and a hotel.
Minehead	1962	Current	Known as Somerwest World 1986–1998. Still open as Butlins Minehead 30 April 1999–present.
Mosney	1948	1980	Operated independently until closure and conversion into an Irish Government refugee centre forasylum seekersin 2000. Most of the original camp buildings are still in use.
Pwllheli	1947	1998	Known as Starcoast World 1990–1998; operated asHafan Y MorbyHavensince 1999.
Skegness	1936	Current	Known as Funcoast World 1987–1998. Still open as Butlins Skegness.

In addition to these main locations known at various times as "Holiday Camps", "Holiday Centres", "Holiday Villages", "Holiday Worlds" and more recently as "Resorts", Butlins also operated numerous smaller holiday parks in England and France for several years during the late 1970s. These were known as "Freshfields holidays" and were more basic parks with far fewer facilities and little or no entertainment. They were aimed at those wanting a quieter, more relaxed holiday.

Butlins Freshfield Holiday Camps

Location	Opened	Closed	Comments
Duporth Holiday Village,St Austell	1934	2006	Operated as Butlins from 1972; operated asHavenfrom 1985.
Seaview Holiday Village,Polperro	?	Present	Operated as Butlins from 1973; Currently operated independently and sold on the independent owners behalf byHoseasons.
Sunshine Holiday Centre,Hayling Island	?	Present	Operated as Butlins from 1973; Currently operating independently as "Mill Rythe Holiday Resort".
St Minver	?	Present	Operated as Butlins from 1971; Currently operated byParkdean Holidays.
Tencreek Holiday Park,Looe	?	Present	Operated as Butlins from 1973; Currently operated by Dolphin Holidays.
Ayrville,St Ives, Cornwall	?	Present	Operated as Butlins from 1974; Currently operating as "Ayr Holiday Park".
Two Chimneys,Penzance	?	Present	Operated as Butlins from 1974; Currently operated by Rojo Leisure.

Butlins hotels past and present

Location	Opened	Closed	Comments
Ayr	1946	Early 1970s	Demolished in the 1970s
Bognor Regis – Wave	2012	Present	Newly opened within Bognor resort
Bognor Regis – Ocean	2009	Present	Opened 2009 within Bognor resort
Bognor Regis – Shoreline	2007	Present	Opened 2007 within Bognor resort
Borehamwood	1939	1942	Demolished in the 1980s and replaced with modern Hotel
Blackpool	1955	1998	Still open asGrand Metropole Hotel
Cliftonville	1955	1999	Partially demolished, remainder converted to flats.
Llandudno	1981	1998	Still open asGrand Hotel.
London	1993	1998	Still open as Grand Plaza Hotel.
Saltdean	1952	1999	Converted to flats.
Scarborough	1978	1999	Still open asGrand Hotel.
Skegness	1948	1974	Ingoldmellsbuilding still standing and now used as an amusement arcade within the Butlins Skegness resort
Torremolinos	1983	1998	Still open as Griego Mar Hotel.

Facilities

Accommodation

Blue Skies Apartments in Minehead

Butlins resorts offer various accommodation options to cater for different tastes and budgets. These range from "Standard" rooms and apartments to "Silver", "Gold", and "Deluxe" rooms and apartments for higher levels of luxury. There are also "BlueSkies" apartments available at Minehead, and 3 luxury hotels at Butlin's Bognor.

Butlins was originally known for its "chalet" accommodation, which for decades was the only form of accommodation and consisted of many long blocks. These were arranged so that each line of chalets faced another line, with a grassed area in the middle. Originally there were no toilets in individual chalets (campers had to use communal toilet blocks located in the middle of every few chalet lines) and the furnishings were very basic. Many of these chalet lines are still in use today, but have been enlarged and significantly upgraded to modern standards. All chalets now have en-suite bathroom facilities.

One of the first chalets is still standing at the Skegness resort and is now heritage listed and a historical display only.

Skyline Pavilion

Skyline Pavilion in Minehead

The "Skyline Pavilion" is a large area within each resort that is enclosed under a white tensile fabric canopy. These were created during the 1998-99 closed season by linking together several pre-existing buildings so that space within those buildings could be used to provide all-weather facilities within the Skyline Pavilions.

Each Skyline Pavilion contains a stage (used mainly for daytime children's shows), a cafe and associated seating, a bar (known as Bar Rosso, The Jellyfish Lounge, Soho Coffee or Costa Coffee), restaurants such asBurger King,Pizza Hut,Turner's, an amusement arcade, an information counter (termed "infunmation point" ), and various shops selling novelties, souvenirs, and groceries. Many of the other venues and attractions in the resort can be accessed directly from within the Skyline Pavilion also.

Splash Waterworld

Each resort features a large indoor waterpark known as Splash Waterworld. These contain several waterslides, spas, a wave pool, and a lazy river. There is also a shallow pool area for young children, and sometimes an area for "serious" swimming. Minehead also has an outdoor toddler pool that is open in the summer months. Guests and day visitors can use these facilities at no additional cost. Skegness resort has recently opened a £16 million redevelopment of the Splash Waterworld that features 2 new octane flumes (Jet Stream and Vortex, which has a space-bowl), a new dinghy ride (The Riptide), a rope-walk challenge (Captain's Challenge), a lazy river, a poolside cafe and DJ. It also has a new outdoor fountain area that replaced the outdoor pool, the fountains go along with music (every hour) and lights.

Butlins opened a new Splash Waterworld at Bognor Regis in spring 2019.

Entertainment

There are various large entertainment venues within the resorts including Centre Stage, Studio 36, Reds and Skyline Stage. Additionally, there are is Bar Rosso, Hotshots 10-pin bowling centre with bar and snooker tables, Green Baize snooker hall (originally at all camps but now at Skegness only), and several additional bars, pubs, and cafes which vary from one Butlins resort to another. Nearly all entertainment is included in the cost of the holiday or day visitor entry.

Notable headliners at Centre Stage (Bognor Regis)

• Spider-Man The Musical(30 April 1999 – 25 June 1999)
• The Mask Musical(28 June 1999 – 4 September 1999)
• Casper The Musical(6 September 1999 – 26 November 1999)

Notable headliners at Centre Stage (Minehead)

• Casper The Musical(30 April 1999 – 25 June 1999)
• Spider-Man The Musical(28 June 1999 – 4 September 1999)
• The Mask Musical(6 September 1999 – 26 November 1999)
• Tweenies Live!(2004)

Notable headliners at Centre Stage (Skegness)

• The Mask Musical(30 April 1999 – 25 June 1999)
• Casper The Musical(28 June 1999 – 4 September 1999)
• Spider-Man The Musical(6 September 1999 – 26 November 1999)

Sports and recreation

Butlins resorts offer a variety of sports sessions and coaching, for example, archery, fencing, tennis (Skegness only), table tennis, and football. Most of these sessions are included in the cost of holiday or day visitor entry price.

For general recreation, facilities include multi-sports courts, adventure golf, adventure playgrounds, water zorbing, high ropes courses, funfair, inflatable castles/pillows, and go-karts. Minehead resort also offers bumper boats, donkey rides, use of the adjacent golf course, and "Exmoor Adventures" country leisure pursuits. An additional charge usually applies for most of these activities, although the funfair is free.

Skegness and Bognor resorts each have a spa complex for massage, swimming, facials and other popular spa treatments.

Children's activities

There are a number of attractions and facilities at each resort provided especially for younger children. These include playgrounds, a supervised arts & crafts room, "Bob's Yard"(miniature funfair), a" Junior driving school "with small go-karts for children, and a nursery which can care for children and keep them entertained whilst parents enjoy other activities in the resort.

Bognor Regis

Butlins Bognor Regis in 1962

Main article:Butlins Bognor Regis

Butlins Bognor opened in 1960. The camp later became known as Southcoast World until 1998 and is now known as Butlins Bognor Regis Resort. In 1999 it was renovated again with the construction of a Skyline Pavilion. In 2005, a new £10m hotel called "The Shoreline" was unveiled at the Bognor Regis resort.A second hotel "The Ocean" opened on the site in Summer 2009 and general landscaping and upgrading also took place. In July 2012 a third hotel "The Wave" hotel was opened to guests.

Minehead

A typical scene at Butlins Minehead, October 2010

Main article:Butlin's Minehead

ButlinsMineheadwas opened to the public on 26 May 1962. It underwent substantial renovation in the 1980s, being renamedSomerwest World.In 1998 it was renovated again with the construction of a Skyline Pavilion. Since 1999 the Minehead resort has undergone further aesthetic upgrades. However, most of the original buildings remain, including almost all the original chalets. As such Minehead is now the last remaining Butlins camp that is still largely as Sir Billy designed it. Minehead is the largest resort out of the three remaining open parks.

Mosney

ButlinsMosney,County Meath,Ireland was the first camp to be built outside Great Britain. It was sold in 1982.

Main article:Mosney Accommodation Centre

Mosney was the first Butlins camp outside the UK. The camp opened in 1948, occupying some 200 acres (0.81 km2) of a former country estate. In 1982, Butlins sold the camp, which was renamedMosney Holiday Centre.The camp continued without substantive changes, however, the last season for Mosney was 2000. Dwindling visitor numbers and problems finding staff for the short 12-week season eventually led to the camp's closure. In December 2000 a five-year deal was signed with the government to turn Mosney into a refugee centre. Mosney is now home to 700 refugees from over 20 countries. Like Minehead, most of the original buildings remain, including all the original chalets. Mosney is the only camp that has changed little since it was opened.

Skegness

Main article:Butlins Skegness

Butlins Skegness funpool 1987

ButlinsSkegnesswas the first of Billy Butlin's holiday camps. The camp opened in 1936 but was taken over for military use in 1939, and known asHMS Royal Arthur.The camp reopened to holidaymakers in 1946. In 1987 the site underwent renovation with the construction of a modern fun pool and modernised accommodation, at this time the site was renamedFuncoast World.In 1998 it was renovated again with the construction of a Skyline Pavilion and since that time has undergone further improvements and maintenance in 2011 the resort underwent more development with the introduction of a new guest catering restaurant called The Deck, a new Italian styled restaurant called Ludo's (named after the dinosaur that appeared in the 2010/11 TV adverts), in 2013 the new Splash Waterworld opened adding a new pool area to the resort and plans have recentlybeen submitted to modernise the resort once again with further investment into new restaurants and stores.

Barry Island

View from beach at Barry Island showing chalets.

Main article:Barry Island (holiday camp)

ButlinsBarry Islandwas the last of Billy Butlin's holiday camps. The camp opened in 1966 and closed 20 years later. It was sold to Majestic Holidays in 1987 and renamed to Majestic Barry Island.

Ayr

Butlins Ayr, seen during the mid-1980s before refurbishment.

Main article:Heads of Ayr (holiday camp)

ButlinsAyrwas built by Billy Butlin as a naval training camp in 1940. The camp opened to the public in 1946.

In 1948 Butlin also opened a hotel on the site and a railway station serving the camp. In 1987 a refurbishment saw the camp re-brandedWonderwest Worldand the creation of a new indoor fun-pool along with modernised accommodation.

The site was re-branded to sister companyHaven Holidaysin 1999 and renamedCraig Tara.Since then, the focus has moved to replacing the original chalets with static caravans.

Pwllheli

View across boating pond at Butlins Pwllheli.

Main article:Penychain (holiday camp)

ButlinsPwllheliwas built by Billy Butlin as a naval training camp in 1940. After the war, the camp opened to the public in 1947. In 1987 a refurbishment saw the camp renamedStarcoast Worldand the creation of a new indoor fun-pool along with modernised accommodation. In 1999 the site was re-branded to sister companyHaven Holidaysand renamedHafan Y Môr..

Butlins Park

Main article:Harbour Park

In an early use of the name, in 1932 Billy Butlin opened an amusement park called Butlins Park at Littlehampton on the site of the old east bank fort and windmill. It is currently known asHarbour Park.

Music weekends

Butlins music weekends are over 18s only and are offered regularly across all of the three resorts. Each weekend has a different musical theme, including soul music, alternative, folk, disco, and rock and blues. They also have decade themed weekends from the 1960s to the 2000s. Butlins Music Weekends have played host to big-name acts such as Beverley Knight, Brand New Heavies, Toyah, Buzzcocks, Rick Astley, David Gest & Friends and many more. Madness have also held three weekends in Minehead on their House of Fun tour, taking over the whole resort for the weekend.

All Tomorrow's Parties

Main article:All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)

All Tomorrow's Partieswas a music festival which takes place at Minehead.Named after the song "All Tomorrow's Parties"bythe Velvet Underground,it was an alternative to larger mainstream festivals and was presented in a more intimate environment than a giant stadium or huge country field.All Tomorrow's Partieswas a sponsorship-free festival where the organisers and artists stay in the same accommodation as the fans.

Bloc Weekend

Main article:Bloc Weekend

Bloc Weekendis an annual music festival, devoted toelectronic musicof several genres, and incorporates both DJ sets and live shows. The first two Bloc events took place atPontin'sholiday camp inNorfolk.The 2009 event, which took place during 13–15 March, was moved to the larger Minehead resort. The 5,000 capacity event still sold out before the festival began. In 2010 and 2011, Bloc returned to Minehead for another sold-out show.

Butlins and Dodgem Cars

Dodgem Cars, a brand ofbumper cars,were manufactured in the US by Dodgem Cars Ltd. Billy Butlin saw them and obtained the UKfranchise.As a result, a Skegness funfair owned by Billy Butlin saw the first Dodgems cars in the UK in 1923.

Butlins Beaver Club on the radio

In 1956Butlins Beaver Club–with Uncle Eric Winstronewas heard in the United Kingdom and much of continental Europe on Sunday nights at 6:00 pm over the 208 m wavelength ofRadio Luxembourg.

Reds TV

The origins of the in-house TV system began in 1995 when Butlins decided to make use of the then 'empty' fifth channel (Channel 5 was still two years away from its launch). A teletext system was installed, together with a backing of incidental music, overseen by Redcoat/Stage Manager Tony Filer – and piped through to the guests' chalets to provide first an alternative, then an accompaniment to the printed programme of events. Filer (now a successful radio producer) installed a video camera in the new 'studio' to enable visiting celebrity interviews and 'Know your Redcoats' discussions to be shown. The Butlins 'Channel 5' name was changed to 'BTV' a year before the new fifth terrestrial TV channel emerged – and later became known as 'Reds TV'.

Publicity

Butlins badges

Butlins Badge Skegness 1938

Butlins Badge Filey 1945

Butlins Badge Blackpool 1961

When booking in on arrival at Butlins (camp or hotel) each camper was issued with an enamel badge to wear for the duration of their holiday. The badge granted the camper readmission to the site should they take a trip out during their stay. Badges were worn with pride. Campers kept badges from previous holidays and wore them all on a ribbon.

Each year a different badge was produced for each camp with the name of the camp and the year forming part of the design.

The badges were made ofdie-stamped metal (usuallybrass), highly polished orchrome platedwith the brightly coloured design made ofvitreous enamelusing a process similar toChamplevébut the troughs being stamped in rather than carved.

Each camp had at least one badge each year, with most of the larger camps having several colour variations throughout the season for improved security. Occasionally, two different designs would be used in one season.

Each badge was handmade by jewellery manufacturers in London, Dublin or in Birmingham's 'Jewellery Quarter'. The quality and beauty of the badges have ensured that many survive as heirlooms and are very collectable.

A collection of one badge per camp per year would total 192 badges. However, the myriad colour variations and additional 'special' badges would take the collection to over 1200 badges (although there is no definitive list of all variations).

Additional badges included 'Second Week' badges, Staff badges, 'Concessionaire' badges (for visiting tradesmen – these badges are distinguished by the absence of enamel), Committee badges, Christmas badges, Beaver Club badges, Reunion badges and many others. Badges were not issued duringSecond World Waryears of 1940 to 1945 as the camps were taken over by the government and used as accommodation for war service personnel.

Notable badges include 'Skegness 1936' (the first badge issued) and 'Filey 1945', which features the 'V for Victory' in its design and is an exception to the gap of the war years as the camp was the first to reopen after the war just in time for the end of the season in August 1945.

Barry Island 1965 is the 'Holy Grail' of Butlins badges: the camp didn't open that year as planned. The badges were manufactured but never issued; some examples survive.

The original badges were issued every year from 1936 until 1967. In 2004, Butlins has again begun selling similar style badges in their on-resort souvenir shops. Some of these are of a more modern design, whilst some are close or exact replicas of badges from Butlins earlier days. The current badges, however, serve no purpose in identifying guests and are available purely as nostalgic souvenirs. Many regular guests like to swap badges with Butlins staff, who often have special badges to swap which are not otherwise available to guests. The badge collection ribbons are also sold in Butlins shops and may be used to pin multiple badges to.

Members of the Premier Club (Butlins loyalty club for regular guests) receive a free badge each time they visit, with a new design given each year.

Slogans

Throughout most of its history, Butlins has regularly advertised using various media. Examples of slogans include:

• Early slogans from the 1930s to 1950s included "Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight", "A weeks holiday for a weeks pay", "Holidays are Jollidays" and "Holidays with pay. Holidays with play!"
• 1960s "You'll have a really wonderful time at Butlins by the sea"
• 1970s "Butlinland is Freedomland" and "A holiday that's out of this world" (well known campaign that featured two blue-skinned alien characters called Toot and Ploot in various Butlin's locations).
• Early 1980s "A little bit of this, and quite a lot of that"
• Mid 1980s "Butlin it once and you'll do it again!"
• 1990s "Let yourself go, and you won't want to leave" and "No.1 for family fun"
• Approx 1999–2002 "Come to life. Come to Butlins"
• Approx 2002–2004 "A million holidays. One Butlins"
• 2005–2007 "Kids love it"
• 2007–2009 "Altogether More Fun"
• 2010 "Isn't it time you came round to Butlins?"
• 2011 "Happy Days" then "Happiness is..."
• 2012 to 2014 "Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight" (a return to the very first, William Shakespeare-inspired slogan used by Sir Billy Butlin)
• 2014 to 2020 "Butlins by the sea" same as the 1960s slogan with 'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' still very much in use around resort and for staff training
• 2020 "Ready to Butlins"

Butlins in popular culture

Butlins has appeared in popular culture too many times to list here. However, below are a few notable examples.

The 1947 filmHoliday Campwas filmed mainly on location atButlins Filey,although theestablishing shotwas of Butlins Skegness.

On the showThe Two Ronnies(series 3, episode 1, first broadcast on 27 September 1973) there was a sketch parodying the BBC war dramaColditz.The two main characters finally escape over the wall of the infamous POW camp, only to wake up in a worse one – a dreary place called "Butlitz", a spoof of Butlins, where the German guards are dressed likeRedcoats.

During the 1980s theBBCproduced a sitcom calledHi-de-Hi!set in "Maplin's", a farcical holiday camp loosely styled on Butlins. Its writers (Jimmy PerryandDavid Croft) had themselves been Redcoats at Butlins. A later documentary series calledRedcoatsfollowed Redcoats through their seasons at Butlins.

In the film version of The Who'sTommy(1975) there is a 'Bernie's Holiday Camp' where Tommy's mother meets her new husband.

In the television showLostthe character ofCharlie Pacelearns to swim with his father at a Butlins camp.

The 1987Doctor WhoTV serial "Delta and the Bannermen"was filmed mainly at the Butlins camp on Barry Island, Wales. The camp is referred to as the 'Shangri-La' holiday camp, run by 'Burton'.

The song Stay Free byThe Clashuses the term "Butlins" as slang for prison, as the singer (Mick Jones) sings to his recently imprisoned friend, "I did my very best to write / How was Butlins? Were the screws too tight?" ( "screws" being slang for prison guards).

Many books have been written about Butlins and its history, and about the life of Sir Billy Butlin. Some of these are:

• Read, Sue (1986).Hello Campers!.Bantam Press.ISBN0-593-01039-6.
• Butlin, Sir Billy (1993).The Billy Butlin Story – A Showman to the End.Robson Books.ISBN0-86051-864-7.
• North, Rex (1962).The Butlin Story.Jarrolds.
• May, James (2010).How to Land an Airbus A330 (In his book, May describes how one would go about escaping from a Butlins Holiday Camp).Hodder Paperbacks.ISBN978-0-340-99458-0.

There have also been a number of children's fiction books which include Butlins as a location or an integral part of the story. For example:

• Richards, Frank (1961).Billy Bunter at Butlins.Cassell.
• Creasey, John (1954).The Toff at Butlins.London:Hodder and Stoughton.

See also

• Haven Holidays
• HIT Entertainment
• Holiday camp
• Pontin's
• Redcoats (Butlins)
• Resort

External links

• Official website
• BygoneButlins Butlins History
• bbc.co.uk/somerset: The Minehead Meander
• South Wales Echostory about Butlins early career and first-holiday camp
• Bognor Regis Regeneration at Butlins
• Butlins Memories
• Butlins Memories and Memorabilia