butlins at filey

[anna]

=D> =D> =D> great photos Barney ...
they must hold happy memories for you ..

[Pooter]

Looks like the fountain wasn't working in 1971.

[Jarrow Pete]

People tend to forget that we used to have a holiday camp at Marsden. It was built between the wars where Grotto Gardens is now. After the last war it was used to rehouse people who had lost their homes in the bombings, we always referred to it as the squatters huts.

[nesr012]

That fountain has been very popular in its time.

State of the art cosas them like.

[anna]

more great photos ... =D>

[jimmywizz]

when i get a chance i will have to dig mine out

[anna]

well since you starter this intresting thread Jimmy ,,,i agree ,,get ya finger out ...

[Cisco]

I went Butlins in 1967 and had such a great time there, went back the following year.
They use to put the young ones down at the bottom end of the camp, if I remember rightly it was called white camp.
I remember the Beachcomber Bar, it use to have a screen along the wall which use to have thunder and lightning flashing across it.

[curly]

So there isn't a Butlins in Portugal then?

I think that's gone over most peoples heads, Curly.

Thought so Baldy

[jimmywizz]

Cisco i used to love the beachcomber bar

[Cisco]

The Beachcomber was a good little bar Jimmy.
Was the Sportsman bar still there went you went, it was a huge bar with animal heads on the wall, there was a stage at the bottom end of the bar where the group played every night.

[Barney]

There was a few bars there.
I remember seeing Nazareth playing in the sportsmans bar one year.

There was:
The Pig'n'Whistle, which became the discotheque later
The Regency Theatre Bar, where we saw Bob Monkhouse
The Oasis, under the north end of the Indoor Pool
The Beachcomber
The French Bar, which had the longest counter in Europe at one time
The aforementioned Sportsmans Bar, in between the stadium and the Gaiety Theatre

I cannot remember any others off the top of my head.

I have a map of the camp somewhere.
I'll post it when I get home later today.

[Cisco]

The Pig and Whistle was the one I was trying to remember Barney, they had a shooting gallery just outside of the bar.

[jimmywizz]

cisco i was under age then so i could only go into the family bars the beachcomber was one of them, barney, Nazareth now thats a blast from the past, they made some great tracks in their time

[anna]

this was taken at Butlins,me and my two brothers..
.

[Barney]

Here's the map and legend I promised earlier.
I "acquired" these from the Butlins Memories website!!





This photo makes it easier to refer to the above plan...

[Cisco]

Great photos Barney, we stayed in white camp which is in the top left hand corner of the map, that's where they stuck all the noisy young ones.
I was there in 1967 and 1968 and the bars me and jimmy have mentioned are not on the 1969 map, they must have closed a good few of them down for the start of the 1969 season.

[Barney]

Hi Cisco;

I saw that the Pig'n'Whistle had gone by '69. My dad was upset about that.
It's interesting that the Sportsmans bar is not listed in 1969, and in 1974 is known as the Gaiety Bar.

I was looking at an earlier map, from 1953, and it seems that changing bar names was a regular occurrence. For instance, the Pig'n'Whistle is there, but next to it is the Green Bar, which wasn't there in the 60's.
Another one was the Welcome Inn, which was where the Beachcomber building stood later.
Next to the French Bar was a Harvey's Bar, which i guess became part of Kent Dining Hall.
Also, there was a Gloucester Dining Hall, which was were the main part of the French Bar was later.
The Regency Theatre Bar was apparently called the Passing Show Bar back then, and next to the Viennese Ballroom was the Parliament Bar!!
And, of course, as there was no Indoor pool, there was no Oasis Bar.

It's obvious this camp kept evolving through its lifespan.
Interesting stuff.

[Cisco]

I also think at the end of the 60s they were trying to go more family friendly.

[Barney]

I also think at the end of the 60s they were trying to go more family friendly.

Yeah, you;re right.
Another thing they were frowning on and trying to stop were bookings by groups of the same s*x - mainly groups of older teenage/early 20's males, who had quite a reputation for breaking the place up and having fights, as well as being a threat to the young ladies of the camp!!!

Ah well - all history now.
Good job we've got some good memories to take us into senility!!!