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1936

Billy Butlin opened Skegness Holiday Camp with £50,000 of his own capital and £25,000 loaned from the Bank. He designed the camp himself. He said "my plans were for 1,000 people in 600 chalets with electricity (then a luxury), running water, 250 Bathrooms, Dining and Recreational Halls. A Theatre, a Gymnasium, a rhododendron bordered swimming pool with cascades at both ends and a boating lake. In landscaped grounds, there were to be Tennis courts, Bowling and Putting greens and Cricket pitches".

This was to be Luxury camp, at prices that the working man could afford. Three meals a day, and free entertainment from 35 shillings (£1.75) to £3 a week according to the time at which they came in the season.

They were booked for whole season, at a time when most Holiday Camps ran on far less campers than that, working on a profit of just 500 Holiday makers.

1936

Redcoats were invented by Norman Bradford as the campers were soon looking bored after the magic wore off after three days. He entertained them as the first Redcoat and recruited other staff, to make sure the campers always had a person to turn to.

They made sure that people made friends, led, advised, explained, provided comfort and helped out when camper were in difficulty. They did not regiment, but did look after the children. This left the parents free to enjoy their Holiday.

Norman also invented the phrase "Hi-De-Hi", to which the campers responded "Hi-de-Ho" quite spontaneously.

1936

Butlin proposed a new Holiday camp at Clacton-on-Sea on the 28 acres of the former West Clacton Estate to the Local Town Council. The Council considered it would bringing down the tone of the Town and the Local Association of Hotels and Boarding House Keepers was against it, as it would take their customers away.

There was also the threat that because the camp was self contained, the town would never see any revenue as the campers would never have needed to leave the camp!

Butlin however was anticipating that Parliament was passing the "Holidays with Pay Act", which would entitle workers to be paid for weeks which they had to take off, (due to the closure of factories etc. for annual holidays). They could then afford to go to a Holiday Camp on their weeks pay.

Butlin decided to take them all, at his expense, to Skegness to see how the Town there appreciated their Holiday camp. They were soon won over, as the local traders had seen their business dip at first, but after then, rise as the seasonal workers needed to spend their pay somewhere as well as campers in the town.

The debates in the Council were countered one by one at Clacton In the summer Clacton-on-Sea's population rose to 100,000, but Butlin's new camp would only cater for 1,500 . This was only 10% of the total!

The Butlins Holiday Camp at Clacton was almost the same style as Skegness.

For the Grand Opening day Butlin hired a special train to bring every MP who had voted for "The holidays with Pay Act" down to Clacton to show them what kind of holiday a week's pay would buy.

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