Billy Butlin - Post War Expansion

Post War Expansion

After the war, it became apparent that most holiday camps in Britain had been damaged by troop occupation, and the situation was so bad that questions were raised in parliament. Other than Clacton, the Butlins camps were relatively unscathed, and even Clacton, which had been damaged by troop occupation, re-opened in early 1946. In the post war boom Butlin saw opportunities on foreign shores. He opened camps at Mosney, in the soon to be Republic of Ireland, in 1948 and on Grand Bahama, in 1949.

In most ways Mosney was identical to the existing successful camps, but in Ireland this was something that was seen to be feared, rather than embraced. A number of complaints appeared in the Catholic Standard, warning that holiday camps were an English idea that was not desirable in Catholic Ireland. Like the other camps, Mosney was designed to have a church and reassurances were given that it would be a Catholic chapel with a resident priest. Reassurances were also given that Irish nationals would have priority over British tourists in booking holidays. In July 1948 the camp was finally opened by William Norton, the Minister for Social Welfare, and it operated successfully as a Butlin's camp until the early 1980s.

A more ambitious plan by Butlin was thought up on a trip to the Bahamas in 1946. Seeing potential for a camp in warmer climes, he formed a company under the chairmanship of Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford and bought land in Grand Bahama. Butlin also purchased the Princess hotel in Bermuda and the Fort Montagu beach hotel in Nassau. The camp was intended to be complete and open on New Years Day of 1950. After an investment of US$5 million (2011:£28.9 million) the camp opened, still only partially complete, in the winter of 1949. To celebrate its opening, Butlin ran a mystery flight, where guests, who had paid $129 (2011:£746.73) each, were taken on a flight to the resort without being informed in advance. However Butlin did not remain celebrating for long; he required a further $2.25 million (2011:£14.5 million) to complete the camp, and to make matters worse American tourists were not used to the holiday camp mentality so the venture held little interest. In an attempt to save the camp, Butlin sold the Hotel leases to an American firm. By November 1950, the subsidiary company handling the Caribbean resort was ordered to be wound up by a court. Butlin admitted defeat and focused his efforts back in Europe. In the late 1940s Butlin had successfully opened hotels outside the Skegness and Ayr camps, so he now saw his opportunity to expand into this market. Butlin began acquiring hotels in Saltdean, Blackpool and Cliftonville.