Billy Butlin, a fairground worker from Canada, set up his first holiday camp at Skegness in 1936. Over the years, Butlin's became a household name for offering reasonably-priced holidays for all. However, times change, and in later years the renamed 'Holiday Worlds' needed a significant investment to meet the much higher expectations of the more affluent holidaymakers. Thus by the early 1980s, The Rank Organisation took over the 'empire' with a view to giving a total holiday experience far different from the earlier 'Hello Campers' way of life, and the modern Butlin's was set to compete with the likes of Center Parcs...  

	Billy Butlin opened his first camp in Skegness on 11th April 1936. His slogan was 'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight'.
A book of  the 'Butlin's Postcards' has been published: 'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - The John Hinde Butlin's Photographs by Chris Boot. Introduction by Martin Parr. The book recreates the corporate images of Butlin's camps as they were in bygone days. All of the camps carried the same branding and decor, although there are only a few 'Ektachromes' included for Clacton.

Listen to memories about Butlin's on Radio 4

Note: Some camps were opened earlier than the dates quoted for alternative use during the 2nd World War.

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If you have any photos of the miniature railway at Butlin's Clacton, do get in touch.

Watch these pages for more related memories of Butlin's...

Funded by the Lottery, this project is seeking to gather all of your memories of Butlin's Filey.

http://www.butlinsonline.co.uk Butlin's today-the official site.

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/butlins Teenagers having fun at Butlin's today.

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/butlinsyesteryear Reliving past times.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/f.setchfield/BCC%20WEBSITE/butlins.htm The Badge Collector's Circle - For a complete list of Butlin's badges.

http://www.butlinsmemories.com/ Butlin's Memories.

http://www.butlinsbarryisland.com/ The history of Butlin's Barry Island.

http://www.barryislandreunion.com/ Barry Island Reunion

And for Clacton...

Clacton Lifeboat part of the RNLI.

Clacton-on-Sea Web Pages A lively mix of history and current day topics, including a section on Butlin's..

A Tour of Clacton on Sea An in-depth study of the resort, including many photographs.