 | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Occupation type | Employment, performing arts |
Activity sectors | Entertainment, event management |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Singing, dancing, acting |
Fields of employment | Holiday camp |
Redcoat is the name given to frontline staff at Butlin's holiday camps in the UK. A Redcoat has duties ranging from adult entertainer or children's entertainer to stewarding.
The first Redcoat was Norman Bradford. When Sir Billy Butlin opened his first Butlin's in Skegness he realised that his guests were not engaging with activities in the way he had envisioned: most kept to themselves, and others looked bored. He asked Bradford – who was engaged as an engineer, constructing the camp – to take on the duty of entertaining the guests which he did with a series of icebreakers and jokes. By the end of the night the camp was buzzing and the Butlins atmosphere was born.
The same night Butlin decided that for his camp to work he would require an army of people to carry out the same job as Norman, and the role of Redcoat was formed. [1]
To make his new army stand out, Butlin asked Norman to purchase a uniform. Norman later returned with a jacket in the camp colours of, blue, primrose yellow and white; however, Butlin found the look to be too authoritarian and decided they should wear red blazers with white lapels, and this became the Redcoat uniform. The first uniforms were made by Billie Ditchfield who became one of the first two female Redcoats (the other was Kay Berry).[ citation needed ]
Over the years the uniform has changed several times, but has always retained the core component of a red blazer (despite a proposal to replace them with red jumpsuits in the 1970s). [1] In the 1960s and 1970s, braid and badges were added to the blazers. Famous designers such as Jeff Banks and Zandra Rhodes have redesigned the uniforms. To mark Butlins' 75th anniversary, the uniform was re-designed very similar to the original design consisting of red blazer with dark braiding and a badge with the letters "BHC" on it (standing for "Butlins Holiday Camps") with white trousers or skirt. This uniform was worn throughout 2011 for the anniversary celebration, and from early 2016 it has once again become the permanent redcoat uniform.
Redcoats work in three areas, General duties, the Kid's Club and the costume character team. General duties are similar to those of a tour rep in a resort – Butlins even describe the role as "The Original Holiday Rep". [2] In the evening the Redcoats form part of the live entertainment team, starring in Gangshows and X Factor style game shows. [3] Throughout the years, Redcoats have been expected to lead ballroom dances, stage and judge competitions, and steward theatrical performances as well as meeting and greeting guests in public areas. Redcoats run the children's clubs which provide sporting activities, competitions and arts and crafts. Each Redcoat will have many different roles to fulfil in any given week. [1]
Butlins remained the largest holiday camp chain in the UK, but smaller camps copied the Redcoat style of staffing. In the 1960s, Fred Pontin adopted the Bluecoat to represent at Pontins holiday camps, [4] and at some point, Harry Warner decided Warners' holiday camps should adopt the Greencoat.
The ITV series Redcoats was a docusoap following the lives of Redcoats at Butlins Minehead and Bognor resorts. Over three series of 30-minute episodes, it shows the selection process, the Redcoats entertaining the visitors and life behind the scenes. The series was made by Pilgrim Productions. [5]
The BBC television series Hi-de-Hi! , written by former Butlins employees Jimmy Perry (a Redcoat) and David Croft (a summer show actor), [6] featured the Yellowcoats as a fictional analogue. The title of the show "Hi-de-Hi" originated with Norman Bradford who claimed to have taken it from an American film; he began using this as a cheer to which the audience spontaneously responded "Ho-de-ho". [7] [8]
Another BBC television series, Doctor Who , featured an episode entitled "Delta and the Bannermen", which depicted an alien attack on the fictitious Shangri-La holiday camp (in reality the Butlins camp at Barry Island). As with the real camp, Shangri-La was staffed with Redcoats played by extras. [9]
In the film adaptation of The Who's rock opera Tommy (directed by Ken Russell), Tommy's stepfather Frank (portrayed by Oliver Reed) becomes acquainted with Tommy's widowed mother (Ann-Margret) during his employ as a Greencoat at the fictional Bernie's Holiday Camp.
The book The Butlins Girls by Elaine Everest is predominantly set at the Skegness camp in 1946, the first year of its re-opening after the war. It features the fictional redcoats Molly Missons, Bunty Grainger, Plum Appleby and Johnny Johnson. There is also a children's book from the 1960s by Frank Richards called Billy Bunter at Butlins. In this book, there is a Redcoat known as Freddie, and Billy Butlin himself appears.
A number of entertainers have been Redcoats in the early stages of their careers. Becoming a Redcoat is seen as a way into show business, as it allows a performer to become established as a professional for the purposes of joining the Equity trade union which then allows the performer to work freely throughout the industry. In exceptional cases a Redcoat may even become notable whilst in the employment of Butlins; Stephen Mulhern notably performed on the Royal Variety Performance in 1997 whilst still working as a Redcoat,[ citation needed ] and in the past notable singers have had chart hits. Clinton Ford, for instance, reached number 27 in 1959 with "Old Shep" just after completing his final summer season at Pwllheli. However, prior to this, in 1957 Russ Hamilton recorded a UK number 2 hit, "We Will Make Love" (held off the top spot by Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up"). Shortly after this, he recorded a number 4 US Billboard hit, "Rainbow", during which Hamilton continued to entertain Butlins guests. It was Billy Butlin himself who asked Hamilton to record "We Will Make Love" for the benefit of Butlins guests. [10]
Other artists have gone on to find success building on the skills they learned as a Redcoat, such as Des O'Connor, Jimmy Tarbuck, and Michael Barrymore. [11]
Other famous Redcoats include Ted Rogers, a comedian best known as the presenter of the variety/game show 3-2-1 , Northern Irish entertainer Jimmy Cricket.
The writer P. J. Kavanagh also did a stint as a Redcoat, and described his experiences in his book The Perfect Stranger (1966). [12]
Comedian Dave Allen was also a Redcoat.
| Camps |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotels | |||||||
| Amusement parks | |||||||
| Owners |
| ||||||
| Facilities | |||||||
| Redcoats | |||||||
| Related articles | |||||||
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Delta and the Bannermen is the third serial of the 24th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in three weekly parts from 2 to 16 November 1987.
Red coat, Redcoat or Redcoats may refer to:
Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, known for his West End theatre starring roles.
Hi-de-Hi! is British sitcom series, created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and produced for the BBC. The programme initially began with a pilot on 1 January 1980 and aired for nine series between 26 February 1981 to 30 January 1988, and starred Paul Shane, Su Pollard, Jeffrey Holland, Ruth Madoc and Simon Cadell.
Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin was an entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp. 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.
A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with terms such as holiday park, resort, holiday village and holiday centre replacing it.
Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It was acquired by Britannia Hotels in 2011.
Haven Holidays is a company operating a chain of holiday parks in the United Kingdom. It operates self catering static caravan holiday parks with many also including touring and camping facilities. The company operates 38 sites in the UK in predominantly coastal locations.
Ingoldmells is a coastal village, civil parish and resort in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A52, and 3 miles (5 km) north from the resort town of Skegness.
Billy Pearce is an English performer, comedian, actor and entertainer. A regular on UK television in the 1980s and 1990s, Pearce has been described as a "supreme entertainer". He particularly loves performing at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, where he consistently breaks box office records
Barry Island was a Butlin's, latterly Majestic Holidays, holiday camp located on Barry Island in Wales. It opened in 1966 and closed in 1996.
Butlin's Ayr was a holiday camp located near Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. When originally opened in 1946, it was named Butlin's Ayr, but in 1987 was renamed Wonderwest World. It closed in 1998 and re-opened in 1999 under the management of Haven Holidays who renamed it Craig Tara.
Butlin's Pwllheli was a holiday camp located near Pwllheli in Wales. The site is now used by Haven Holidays for a caravan park and has been renamed Hafan y Môr. When originally opened in 1947, it was named Butlins Pwllheli, but in 1990 was renamed Starcoast World.
Butlins Skegness, formerly Butlin's Skegness or Funcoast World; is a holiday camp located in Ingoldmells near Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. Billy Butlin conceived of its creation based on his experiences at a Canadian summer camp in his youth and by observation of the actions of other holiday accommodation providers, both in seaside resort lodging houses and in earlier smaller holiday camps.
Butlins Resort Minehead is a holiday camp operated by Butlins, located in Minehead in Somerset, England. It opened in 1962 and remains in use today. It was known as Butlin's Minehead until 1987, and as Somerwest World from then until 1999, when it reopened as Butlins Minehead Resort.
Butlin's Bognor Regis is a holiday camp in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It lies 55.5 miles (89 km) south southwest of London. Butlin's presence in the town began in 1932 with the opening of an amusement park; their operation soon expanded to take in a zoo as well. In 1960, Billy Butlin opened his first post-war mainland holiday camp, moving both the amusement park and zoo into the new camp. The camp survived a series of cuts in the early 1980s, attracting further investment and again in the late 1990s when it was retained as one of only three camps still bearing the Butlin name. The camp has since seen a raft of new construction as the company moves from chalet towards hotel-based accommodation.
Redcoats was a docusoap which ran for three series of half-hour episodes, originally aired between 2001–2003, which followed the daily lives and activities of Redcoats working at Butlins Holiday Resorts in the UK.
Warner Leisure Hotels is a hospitality company owning 14 country and coastal properties around the UK in North Wales, Somerset, Herefordshire, Berkshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Hampshire and Warwickshire. Founded in 1932 as Warner Holiday Camps, later known as Warner Holidays and has been adult only since 1994. In the 1990s Warner's started developing country house hotels and changing their existing 'camps' into coastal resorts and hotels.
A knobbly kneescompetition is a parody of a beauty contest, in which the winner is the person judged to have the knobbliest, or most misshapen, knees.
