The Dining Halls

B U T L I N 'S L U X U R Y H O L I D A Y C A M P
T h e D i n i n g H a l l s



The Dining Halls 1965-1969		Gloucester Rows 49 to 60

Photos: Left - 1967 Gloucester Dining Halls Rows 49 to 60. The window frames look different, but otherwise the building appears to be the original.

Photos Centre - Putting Green and Dining Hall - Butlin's Holiday Camp, Clacton on Sea.

Photos Right - 1967 The climbing frame outside the Dining Halls. You can see the catering staff sitting on the wall.

Of the Dining Halls...

It was a fair walk from the (Red Camp) chalets to the Dining Halls. Windsor was the nearest, being located in the Reception Building, but the main halls were close to the seafront. When it rained, you had to go paddling to get into the halls! The drainage could have been better. Looking at earlier pictures, the halls used to have canopies to keep out the weather.

Student and trainee waiters & waitresses worked very hard to serve every table as quickly as possible, bringing 4 or more plates on a specially made carrier. The atmosphere was jolly and the Redcoats were always there with a smile. If someone dropped a plate, it was the custom to cheer. At the evening meal, the Redcoats spun a pointer on a clockface board and if your row and table number was chosen you won a bottle of champagne.

Windsor Dining Hall 1965

	In 1965 our meals were taken in Windsor Dining Hall which was on the first floor of the Reception Building. There may have been an escalator to the first floor and I seem to remember queuing for some time to get in. By 1973 with half of the camp devoted to self-catering, this area became a children's playroom.

Gloucester & Kent Dining Halls 1969

	Gloucester Dining Hall 1969... The Dining Halls were always packed, but it didn't matter as your table was reserved for the week. Catering for hundreds of people with a three course meal with just over an hour between sittings could have been a logistical nightmare, but Butlin's managed it day after day. The Dining Halls faced onto the playing fields and towards the sea. When the weather was warm and sunny it was very pleasant, but when it rained, the sea breezes really cut across that corner of the camp.

	Kent/Gloucester Dining Hall circa 1970s And this is what they looked like in colour...
Of the Meals There were special meals for children, but I never liked them much, so they let me have a small portion of adult meals. There was always a starter, main course and dessert. I'm not sure what the main courses were, but I do remember having individual portions of Red Leicester or Double Gloucester cheese & biscuits and ice cream & wafers!

Meal Times

Meal times were announced over the Tannoy at least 30 minutes before they were due, to give campers time to get ready and assemble. There were two sittings and in 1969 the times were:

1st Sitting	Breakfast	8:15 a.m.
	Lunch	12:15 a.m.
	Evening Meal	5:30 p.m.
2nd Sitting	Breakfast	9:15 a.m.
	Lunch	1:30 p.m.
	Evening Meal	6:45 p.m.

The Dining Halls Memories

Barbara Provis recalls...
My father was controller of the camp at Clacton for several years in the 1950s, until 1960 when my family emigrated to Canada. Most of my childhood was spent around the camp, in the swimming pool, the theatres, the boating lake etc. I also worked there (under the stern eye of my father) for a couple of years, 1958 - 1959 as a "Bluecoat" in the dining hall allocation office. We used to pore over charts, seating the families who had sent in their applications. Then when they arrived, if they weren't happy with the seating, we had to re-locate them. We had so many laughs in those days, there was never a dull moment.

Ralph Morris recalls...

A friend and I worked at Butlin's Clacton around 1978-9 as waiters. Soup on Tuesday evenings was never served as the waiters were paid on Tuesday mornings and after several pints were never in any condition to pour soup! There was also a catchphrase adopted by the staff and as we all sank into our staff bunks in the early hours (usually worse for wear on Saturday nights), an Irish voice would say "You won't be so chirpy in the morning".

Well remember the Crazy Horse Saloon as it was more thoughtfully lit than other drinking areas in the camp. Wonderful days. Low paid but great fun. Would give ANYTHING to experience those summers again. One wonders what happened to most of it after it was demolished - the funfair rides, the train, the stagecoach. Where did they all go? Guess we'll never know...

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