Summary
DESPITE his giveaway Gloucestershire burr, holiday camp king Billy Butlin was in fact born in Cape Town in 1899.
He had a difficult childhood. His mother Bertha, who came from a Gloucestershire showman's family, and father William, a clergyman's son, separated before he was seven and both he and his brother Harry returned to England with their mother.See the full content of this document
Extract
From a Hoopla Stall to a Holiday Camp Empire
After meeting at a West Country fair the couple had married secretly in 1896 but left for South Africa after the match met with family disapproval.
Back in Gloucestershire, brother Harry, who had contracted polio, died, and Billy spent the next five years following his grandmother's family fair - Hill's - around their traditional West Country venues.While ...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
