Billy Butlin

William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin was born on 29 September 1899 in the Cape Colony (part of the modern-day Republic of South Africa). His father, William Colborne Butlin, was the son of a clergyman; his mother, Bertha Cassandra Hill, was a member of a family of travelling showmen. They met at a young age when Bertha's parents were working a country fair that William attended. Their marriage was considered not socially acceptable in Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire, where they lived, and they emigrated to South Africa. William founded a bicycle shop to support the family, and they had two children, Butlin and his brother Harry John (known as Binkie) Butlin. When the marriage failed, Butlin's mother returned to England with her children and rejoined her own family in Coaley, near Bristol. Within a short time, Harry contracted polio and died.

In his autobiography, Butlin recorded that his mother remarried and emigrated to Canada circa 1910. For two years, Butlin, and his cousin Jimmy Hill boarded with a widow in Bristol. (This may not be correct as the 1911 Census of England shows that he and his mother were residing with her sister-in-law in Organs Yard, Regents Road, Bedminster, Somerset, England.) In December 1913, his mother returned to England and married Charles Robotham in Swindon.

Butlin's mother and stepfather then asked him to join them in Toronto. He accepted their offer, but was unhappy at school in Canada. He was mocked because of his English accent, and he left school at age 14. Eventually, he worked as a messenger at Eaton's, Toronto's largest department store. One aspect of working for the company was that he was able to visit their summer camp, which gave him his first taste of a real holiday. Later, he transferred to Eaton's advertising department where he drew black and white adverts, whilst studying at night school.

In 1915, during World War I, Butlin volunteered for service in the Canadian Army. Knowing that the army already had a full quota of despatch riders, Butlin intended to volunteer for service in that category in the knowledge that although his application would be declined he would still receive an "I volunteered" badge for his actions without having to serve. While applying, Butlin forgot to tell the recruiter of this intention, and was consequently allocated to the Canadian Expeditionary Force which was involved in the fighting along the Western Front. He was subsequently posted to the 170th (Mississauga Horse) Battalion on 29 December 1915. His attestation papers give his date of birth as 1898 (rather than the actual 1899), allowing him to enlist at age 15. The papers give his occupation as a "Suit Case Maker". The papers also show, as Butlin himself later stated, that he had been selected to serve as a bugler.

Before his deployment to Europe, Butlin transferred to the 216th (Bantams) Battalion, and he was sent to England. Once in England, he was stationed at Sandgate near Folkestone before being deployed to France. In France, the 216th became part of the 3rd Canadian Division which took part in the second battle of Vimy Ridge, as well the battles at Ypres and Arras, and the second battle of Cambrai; while in France, Butlin served as a stretcher bearer.

After the war, Butlin returned to England aboard a cattle ship, arriving in England with only £5 (£250.31 as of 2026) capital. He travelled to Bridgwater, Somerset where his uncle, Marshall Hill, was a showman. He purchased a hoopla stall from Hill, and ran it successfully. In later interviews, Butlin claimed that he accidentally sawed the corners off his hoopla blocks, but some observers such as The Sunday Herald report that he did it intentionally, displaying "logic and business sense". In either case, Butlin's actions allowed patrons to have a much higher success rate (approximately 3 in 5 for each ring) and brought him more custom than fellow stall holders. By contrast, an average game would have odds of approximately 1 in 9 for each ring or 1 in 3 for a 3-ring game.

Butlin's stall gave him less profit per customer than his competitors, but the increase in business gave him a bigger overall profit than theirs. He moved to London and set up a successful stall outside the Christmas circus ran by Bertram Mills at Olympia. By the end of the season, Butlin was so successful that he brought his widowed mother to the UK from Canada.

Butlin remained close to his mother, both in following her to Canada and in arranging for her to come home after the death of his stepfather. She died in 1934 and never saw his first holiday camp. By contrast, Butlin makes no mention in his biography of his father after returning from Canada. His father remained in Cape Town for the rest of his life, dying in 1954.

In the 1920s while staying in Tiverton in Devon, and working with Marshall Hill, Butlin met Doris "Dolly" Mabel Cheriton, whose family owned the local fish and chip shop; the couple were married in 1927. By the early 1930s the marriage had failed and they separated. Soon after, Butlin met and fell in love with Norah Faith Cheriton, Dolly's niece. Dolly refused to grant Butlin a divorce. It was not until Dolly's death in 1958 that he and Norah were free to marry. Butlin was surprised by Eamonn Andrews for This Is Your Life on his wedding day in 1959. The second marriage lasted only a few months, as Butlin had already fallen in love with Sheila Edwina Devine. This time it was Norah who refused to grant him a divorce. In 1975, with divorce laws having changed, Butlin was able to divorce Norah and marry Sheila with whom he remained until his death.

Butlin had two sons and four daughters from his three marriages. Bertha Hill's obituary records "William, Dolly and baby Shirley" and on Shirley's fifth birthday, the local Skegness newspaper noted that she invited many of her friends to her father's holiday camp for her party. Little reference is made to her after this time, and her name is not listed on her father's grave with her still-living siblings. Sandra died in 1976 at the age of 34 (the same year Butlin's second wife Norah died.) William Jr. died of cancer in 2003. Robert took over from his father, running the company from 1968 to 1984, and died of lung cancer on 31 December 2008. Jacquie lives on Jersey, where she runs a clothes shop. Jacquie's daughter, Laura Emily, was the subject of a court case in the Cayman Islands in 1992, to establish whether she could be a beneficiary of her grandfather's estate. Cherie is an actress.