Companion Rat
Register Number: 668 Initiated into the Order: 6 June 1968
Bobby Butlin was the son of Sir Billy Butlin and spent much of his life closely connected with the famous family holiday business.
From an early age, Bobby was prepared for a future within the company. He spent many childhood holidays at the Butlin camps and gained first-hand experience of the business when he worked as a Redcoat in 1951.
Sir Billy was known to be a demanding taskmaster, but Bobby possessed a natural understanding of the organisation and worked across many different areas of the company. When his father retired in 1968, Bobby was the natural choice to take over as head of the business.
At the time, the growing popularity of inexpensive package holidays to Spain and Greece presented a serious challenge to the traditional British holiday camp. Bobby recognised that the Butlin experience needed to change and modernise. His hands-on approach, charismatic personality and sharp business instincts made him well suited to the task.
He regularly visited the camps, sometimes arriving unannounced and chatting informally with holidaymakers while eating fish and chips from the newspaper. On more formal occasions, he would be accompanied by an entourage of staff, creating an almost regal atmosphere.
Among Bobby’s early changes was the removal of the famous early-morning “Wakey, Wakey Campers” announcement. He also strengthened the entertainment programme, booking leading performers including Bob Monkhouse, Ted Rogers and Ken Dodd for the camps’ late-night cabaret shows.
Bobby introduced a major advertising campaign designed to attract both new and returning guests to Butlin’s nine holiday camps. He also introduced self-catering accommodation, much to the initial concern of his father, who believed families would not want to cook while on holiday.
In 1969, Bobby banned single-sex bookings at the camps in an effort to protect their family atmosphere. Several years later, the Barry Island camp attracted considerable press attention after an internal staff notice concerning relationships with holidaymakers was leaked to a Sunday newspaper. Reflecting on the incident, Bobby remarked that sex and holiday camps appeared destined to be associated with one another.
In 1972, Bobby oversaw the sale of the Butlin organisation to the Rank Organisation for £43 million. The company continued to develop under the new ownership, with camps refurbished and additional hotels acquired.
Following the death of Sir Billy in 1980, Bobby continued his involvement with the business until his retirement four years later.
In later life, Bobby devoted considerable time to charitable causes. He supported the Butlin Charitable Trust and was actively involved with the Variety Club, the Vaudeville Golfing Society and the Grand Order of Water Rats, of which he was a proud Companion Rat.
Bobby Butlin is remembered as a charismatic and forward-thinking businessman who helped guide one of Britain’s best-known holiday organisations through a period of enormous social and commercial change.
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