Fabulous John Hinde Butlin’s postcards

Billy Butlin’s inspiration for his holiday camp empire actually came from a bad holiday on Barry Island in his youth when he had been locked out of his B&B all day by his landlady. 

 

Butlins Ayr - Chapel and Skating Rink

In the late 1960s Butlins hired John Hinde to produce postcards that reflected the spirited and enjoyable environment found at the famous holiday camps. Billy Butlin’s inspiration for his holiday camp empire actually came from a bad holiday on Barry Island in his youth when he had been locked out of his B&B all day by his landlady.

By this time Hinde started working for Butlin’s he acted more as an art director than an actual photographer, so he hired two German photographers, Elmar Ludwig and Edmund Nägele, and one British photographer, David Noble. They travelled to the different camps and set up the necessary lights and photography equipment, often taking a whole day to make them just right. The photographers used large format cameras and Ektachrome film to capture the optimistic tone that Butlin was looking for. Hinde would often enhance certain colours later on so that the end result would be a lively, idealistic view of a Butlin vacation and which now have an extraordinary nostalgic style like no other photographs of the time.

Butlins Ayr - Indoor Pool

When the enterprising Billy Butlin saw the slogan “Our true intent is all for your delight” painted on a fairground organ, he had no idea it was a quotation from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Butlins Ayr - Outdoor Pool (Postcard - 1970s)

Butlins Ayr - Outdoor Pool

Butlins Ayr - Sunlawns & Overhead Railway

Butlins Ayr 1970s - Amusement Park

Butlins Clacton - Peter Pan Railway (postcard, early 1970s

Butlins Filey - A Main Avenue (postcard, late 1960s)

Butlins Filey - Chair Lift & Puffing Billy

Butlins Filey - Night View (postcard, late 1960s)

Butlins Filey - Night View of Pool (postcard, late 1960s)

Butlins Filey - Outdoor Swimming Pool & Fountains

Butlins Filey - The Boating Lake & Train (postcard, late 1960s)

Butlins Filey - The Camp by Night

Butlin's at Filey - The French Bar

Butlin’s at Filey – The French Bar

Butlins Filey - The Fun Fair (postcard, late 1960s)

Butlins Pwllheli - Boating Lake (postcard, early 1970s)

Butlins Pwllheli - Chairlift & Panorama (postcard, early 1970s)

Butlins Pwllheli - Chalets & Gardens (postcard, early 1970s)

Butlins Pwllheli - Rock Gardens (postcard, early 1970s)

Butlins Skegness - Monorail 2

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