The Birth of Butlin's

The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin’s Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend. 

South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusement arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.”

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the entertainments on offer, from rambunctious Redcoats to boxing kangaroos; explain how The Beatles owe a debt to Butlin’s Skegness; and reveal the sad fate of the park’s famous monorail… 

Further Reading:

• ‘'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - Glorious Pictures of the Skegness Butlin's’ (Flashbak, 2019): https://flashbak.com/our-true-intent-is-all-for-your-delight-butlins-at-skegness-17646

• ‘The mystery of how an old Butlin's monorail train ended up in this Lincolnshire field’ (Lincolnshire Live, 2021): https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-how-old-butlins-monorail-5059270

• ‘Best of Butlin's’ (British Pathé):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZoqkZUFtA

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

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