On The Pier: Part Five- The Coastal Invasion by Traveling Showmen, The End of an Era. During the early 1950’s, many traveling showmen started looking at opening amusement arcades on the many caravan sites and holiday camps that were re-opening in many of the Seaside towns around England. It was nearly ten years since the end of World War II, many of the coastal towns that had a pleasure pier that was alive with various entertainments in the 1920’s and 1930’s, was still being rebuilt, one of the newest forms of leisure for a British family was to go to stay for a “Fortnight” at a caravan site or Holiday Camp such as Butlin’s, Billy Butlin who was an ex-traveling showman himself, was an early pioneer of the package holiday, where a family could go and for two weeks be fed and entertained in an organized way by a staff that was trained to answer all the needs of these families that had paid a set price to stay in a small chalet and have every kind of entertainment organized for them, these ranged from baby sitters to being woken up in the morning and told exactly where to go to have breakfast, Lunch and Dinner over the Tannoy system, also what entertainment would be available to them on any given day during their “Fortnights” stay.

The dining room at Butlin’s Skegness The Famous Butlin’s Redcoats on staff at Butlin’s

A typical Floor show put on by the Butlin’s Redcoats. The large swimming pools provided by Butlin’s.

A typical floor show at Butlin’s sometimes featured many of England’s legendary recording stars and comedians such as Cliff Richard, Ringo Starr and Des O’Connor who were all members of the Butlin’s Red Coats. Because this form of a “Package Holiday” was so popular in England during the early 1960’s, it was inevitable that other forms of holiday packages such as caravan holidays would also spring up. Unlike the holiday camps such as Butlin’s that offered an organized “Package Holiday”, the independent caravan camp operators only supplied a caravan to sleep in, or a site for holiday makers with their own caravans, several of the smaller caravan camps also had a club house for evening entertainment such as Bingo, and amusement arcades for kids, as well has a small shop that would supply milk, groceries and other necessities such as newspapers and postcards.

South Denes Caravan Camp Gt, Yarmouth A typical Caravan Camp at Clacton-On-Sea

While the big organizations such as Butlin’s operated their own entertainment and even sometimes their own amusement arcades, the independent Caravan Camps leased out either space or a building to an independent amusement arcade operator, such has the traveling showmen.

Playing Bingo in the Club House on a Caravan Camp. An isolated Caravan Camp at Leys down-On-Sea

Because of the proximity of many caravan camps, and being quite isolated from a town in general, visitors flocked to either the club house on these camps to play Bingo or to the amusement arcades that were open till quite late in the evening

. A traveling Showman’s Arcade 1950’s. Sir Billy Butlin A Caravan Camp on the Isle of Sheppey. There are several traveling showmen that progressed from first settling down and opening their arcades and prize bingo stalls on various caravan camps, such as the Wilkinson family from the Nott’s & Derby section of the Showman’s Guild, who started out on the Robin Hood Caravan Camp at Chapel-St-Leonard’s in Lincolnshire, also in that very same area of Skegness there is several other traveling showmen from the Nott’s & Derby section of the Showman’s Guild such as The Bell Family, The Hall family, The Smith family and the late Charlie Sketchily and Rene Sedgwick. Also in the Skegness area there are traveling showmen from the Eastern Counties, Yorkshire Section, London Section and Lancashire section of the Showman Guild including The Green family, The Botton Family, The Ling Family and the Noble Organisation. Further along the coast of East Anglia there are starting with Michael Thomas at Hunstanton, Frank Wilson and The Grey’s at Wells-Next-The-Sea , The Parkin Family at Sheringham, The Radcliffe family at Cromer, The late David Bailey and Billy Burrows at Mundesley-On-Sea, The Sedgwick family at Bacton-On-Sea, The Wilson Family and The Bailey Family at Hemsby-On-Sea, The Crowe and The Pont families at California and Caister-On-Sea and The Botton Brothers, The Jones, The Barron’s, The Thurston, The Moor’s and Burrows Family at Great Yarmouth.

Bailey’s Amusement Arcade at Mundesley-On-Sea 1950’s. Arcade at Caister-On-Sea 1960’s

Britain’s first Holiday Camp Billy Burrow’s Caesars Palace in Gt. Yarmouth

The modern day amusement arcade’s on Great Yarmouth Sea Front in the 1980’s.

The Great Yarmouth “Golden Mile” during its hey-day in the 1970’s

Further along the East Anglian coast at Felistowe there is or was The Manning’s, The Briggs and The Treadwell families, Then on to Clacton-On-Sea where there was The Harrisons, The Bailey’s and The Johnson’s, all of the names listed are those of Traveling Showmen, they are or were located along the Eastern coastline of England. There are very many more Traveling Showmen that have been running successful Amusement Arcades around the entire coastline of England.

The popular resort of Sheerness Forrest’s arcade on the Kent coast. From Lands End to John-O’Groats if there is a coastal town especially if that town as a “Pleasure Pier” that caters for holiday makers, you are sure to find a traveling Showman supplying the Amusements (like no other fraternity has been able to do so) successfully for more than 100 years, they have entertained the holiday makers of Great Britain at Coastal Resorts and “On The Pier”.

Weymouth Pier in 1910. The Pier at Weston-Super-Mare 2010 I would like to dedicate this article to all of the members of the “Showman’s Guild of Great Britain” and especially to my late first cousin: “JOHN CRICK JR” of the London Section, who sadly passed away three weeks ago, may he rest in peace, and always be remembered. (John was the only son of Annie Crick. my late father David Bailey’s sister) Freddy Bailey (A proud traveling showman)

My above book tells of my life and times has a traveling showman in the early 1950’s, to that of being a Coin Machine Historian/Operator/Distributor/Manufacturer for over 55 years. “Such great Memories”. It will soon be available in the U.K. exclusively through www.coin-opcommunity.co.uk