Yes, to encourage the competitive spirit there were a number of Redcoats allocated to each dining hall or House and they were led by the Redcoat House Captain whose task it was to encourage the campers to enter the numerous competitions available. House Points were awarded to winners and runners-up in every weekly competition and the House with the most points at the end of the week would win the Inter-House Trophy.
There was always great rivalry between Redcoats and campers alike. This Committee would meet periodically through the week to air any complaints or suggestions raised by campers and they were immensely valuable as judges in the many competitions.
Billy Butlin was always against this idea and insisted that people went on holiday to escape the chores of cooking and cleaning. But after his retirement, and after seeing the success of the conversions carried out by Pontins, Bobby Butlin decided to introduce self catering in a big way.
The settee in the lounge could become another bed if required. A number of brand new self catering blocks were also built. But plenty of the half-board rooms still remained to give campers a choice. Some of the old dining halls were then converted into other uses, including self serve restaurants which enabled those on self catering to choose when and where to eat.
Each camp also had its own supermarket which allowed campers to buy their supplies on site. The popularity of self-catering meant that fewer people were now taking the full-board option so this allowed the company to introduce single meal sittings and to focus more on quality instead of quantity.
Altogether self catering was a highly successful move and still makes up a good proportion of today's visitors. Although the early camps lacked a lot of the later features, you still had plenty to keep you occupied - lots of sporting activities, the outdoor heated pool, kids play area, boating lake and a good range of bars, theatres and entertainment venues. And not forgetting the organised entertainment provided by the ever enthusiastic Redcoats!
A good percentage went towards the construction of some new entertainment venues along with the improvement of some older buildings. Each camp featured a wide selection of different bars and entertainment venues, each with its own unique atmosphere. Probably the most famous were the Beachcomber Bars which started appearing at all the camps during the early s.
The layout was based around a Hawaiian beach scene with waterfalls and bridges and a "volcano" which erupted once an hour. In fact the bar counter in the French Bar at Filey was once the longest in the UK, measuring nearly feet and requiring up to 70 staff to operate. These statistics held pride of place in the Guinness Book of Records for many years. Although different from the past, Butlins still have a good selection of different themed pubs and bars. These were simply rooms were people could go for a quiet read or chat.
Some of the walls were adorned with paintings which had been purchased over the years by Billy Butlin, usually at knock down prices.
However this art collection gradually increased in value and eventually became valued at several million pounds! At the time chalets did not have their own televisions so people would flock to their favourite room to catch up on the latest news and entertainment.
Each camp had one or two theatres along with smaller venues hosting children's shows, film shows and talent competitions. Some of the main theatres were huge, seating 2, or more people, and boasted superb 'West End' style facilities. Infact, the Gaiety Theatre at Filey, built in around , was the largest theatre in Europe seating 3, on one floor. A lot of the shows were highly professional and many later stars of TV and stage had their first taste of fame here.
Shows were run throughout the day although the main events were always scheduled for the evenings. The 'Sunday Night Showtime' became one of the big events with top line stars brought in to entertain.
Other shows included those by the resident repertory company, Redcoat shows, talent contests and even some highbrow entertainment in the form of visiting operatic and ballet companies. All the traditional old Butlin theatres have now gone but their place has been taken with huge cabaret type venues with highly professional lighting and sound systems and able to accommodate up to 2, people.
Each camp also has its own cinema showing the latest releases. Ballrooms were always a major part of Butlin life and each camp had a good selection to choose from.
Various interests were catered for in the form of Modern, Old Time or Jive and each had it's own separate facility. Each ballroom also had it's own resident band and competitions were held throughout the summer with grand finals being held at the end of the season, usually in London at the Royal Albert Hall. The largest event was the Butlin's Dance Festival which was recognised as the biggest in the world, would take-over a camp as an exclusive booking at the end of season and enjoy up to 10, dancers, supporters and officials for a week with different types of dance taking place simultaneously in the various ballrooms and theatres on the camp.
What's all this about the loudspeakers and that infamous 'wakey-wakey' call? All of the camps and hotels had an extensive network of loudspeakers supplied by the London company of Tannoy Ltd. They were operated by staff from Radio Butlin and were used to broadcast both announcements and music. But probably their most memorable purpose was to wake the campers every morning. At a certain time the loudspeakers would suddenly burst into life with the famous 'wakey-wakey' call and music would be played to let everyone know that the first sitting for breakfast was coming up.
The early campers at Ayr probably had the worse deal as they endured a wake-up call in the form of a local bagpipist! The Tannoy system was toned down in the s and later scrapped altogether. This was a service run by the nursery department and designed to allow parents to go out in the evening whilst the kids remained asleep in the chalets. Teams of staff would patrol the chalets sometimes on cycles and make a note of any from which crying babies or children could be heard.
This information was then relayed on the Tannoy or back to the main entertainment buildings where a sign would flash to alert the parents.
Yes in the s they began acquiring hotels in Brighton, Blackpool and several in Cliftonville. In later years they were joined by further hotels in Scarborough, Llandudno, London and even Spain. The camps at Ayr and Skegness also had separate self-contained hotels within the grounds. The hotels obviously didn't have the same huge range of activities as the camps but most of them still offered a selection of bars, a theatre, swimming pool, competitions and of course the Redcoats.
All the hotels were sold in but most are still open today under new ownership. In the company announced plans to build a brand new luxury hotel at the Bognor resort, which was opened in and known as the Shoreline Hotel. This was followed in by the Ocean Hotel, with some of the old chalets being demolished as a result. The attractive little metal pin badges were introduced as a kind of ID tag to show that you were a paid-up holidaymaker.
They were worn for the duration of the holiday and allowed you admission into the various entertainment venues. They first appeared in and each year except for the war period different badges were produced for each camp and hotel. The badges changed colour each week.
For instance, on the Pwllheli badge pictured , the outer ring could be either red, blue, green, black or yellow and for five weeks the new arrivals would have a different colour badge to the previous week's campers.
This helped on two counts, Security could see whether anyone had outstayed their welcome and Bar staff could refuse to serve you if not wearing the right colour badge, helping with the Licensing Laws. Badges were also produced for a whole range of other activities including the children's clubs, the Winter reunions, sports festivals and Christmas. Badges were also given to day visitors, to those staying for a 2nd week and to members of the different social clubs and committees.
They were last produced at the end of The exact number of different badges is not known but a rough estimate is around 1, Most can be picked up relatively cheaply today although certain rarities command a higher price.
Yes, in pin badges were launched, the idea being that guests buy badges and then attach them to a lanyard which they wear around their neck. The badges feature a variety of images including Butlins characters and old logos. Staff also wear lanyards and guests can swap their badges with staff, thereby encouraging guests and staff to interact with each other.
Some of the badges are available to buy on resort whilst others can only be obtained from swapping with staff. Special badges are also available including annual "Premier Club" badges, which are available to guests who visit Butlins more than a certain number of times, "Eat Well" and "Discovery" badges, both of which are available to guests who get cards stamped for eating certain healthy food or completing certain activities. Dry ski slope at Minehead Skiing at Butlin's! Butlin's, Skegness Butlin's first camp at Skegness was still going strong in the sixties.
An interesting comment written on the back of a postcard sent from Butlin's in reads: "The girls seem to by enjoying themselves here and found themselves a couple of boys last night.
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See Bognor Regis. Minehead Nestled in the beautiful hilly moors of Exmoor, Somerset, our Minehead resort is the largest of the three. See Minehead. Skegness In the traditional coastal county of Lincolnshire, our Skegness resort was the first to open in
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