Billy Butlin

Common card · No. 333400

Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin (29 September 1899 – 12 June 1980) was an entrepreneur known for British holiday camps. Although holiday camps such as Warner's existed in one form or another before Butlin opened his first in 1936, it was Butlin who turned holiday camps into a multimillion-pound industry and an important aspect of British culture. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, to William and Bertha Butlin, Butlin had a turbulent childhood. His parents separated before he was seven, and he moved to England with his mother. He spent the next five years following his grandmother's family fair around the country where his mother sold gingerbread, exposing the young Butlin to the skills of commerce and entertainment. When he was twelve his mother emigrated to Canada, leaving him in the care of his aunt for two years. Once settled in Toronto, his mother invited him to join her there. In Canada, Butlin struggled to fit in at school and soon left for a job in a Toronto department...

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