Wish You Were Here!: The Lives, Loves and Friendships of the Butlin's Girls

by Lynn Russell, Neil Hanson

Touching true stories from the heyday of the Butlin’s holiday camps.

‘When I got to the camp I felt as if I’d suddenly walked into Utopia – it was so colourful, so warm, so friendly. There were lights across the roads, there were banners fluttering in the breeze… There seemed to be laughter coming from every building.’

With grey post-WWII skies hanging low over Britain, factories lining the streets and smoke stacks dotting the horizon, there was one way that ordinary families could the ever-cheerful holiday camps of Butlin’s.

When Billy Butlin founded his holiday camps in 1936, they were bastions of community spirit and havens of luxury. Here, for one week, wives and mothers were freed from the toil and drudgery of housework, children ran free through the grounds, fathers and husbands hung up their work clothes. Ever-helpful redcoats were on hand all hours of the day, dinner halls ready with plentiful food for old and young alike, bars stocked to quench any level of thirst, ballrooms waiting to be flooded with shiny shoes, rustling dresses and peals of laughter. And, as the sun went down on another exhausting, happy day, a chorus line was ready to sing holidaymakers back to their beds.

Rich in period detail and highly evocative, Wish You Were Here! follows the lives of seven of the camps’ key figures through the highs and lows of the holiday from redcoats searching for stardom to young families who returned year after year, to pensioners who rediscovered an inner youth.

The laughter and tears, the loves and losses, and the fun and friendships that have lasted a lifetime – it's all here.

Funny, moving and heartwarming, they are tales of swimming pools and sing-a-longs, Glamorous Grannies and bicycle rides, and of a community spirit that burned brightly in a much-loved British institution.

Genres: History

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Steph Ollman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting at first but due to much repetition and the simplistic style of writing, it didn’t hold my attention to the end.

[jennifer laughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ok read. It was a bit before my time. It focused on butlins in the 1960’s.I went to Butlins as a 13 year old in the early 80’s it was our first and only family holiday. We all enjoyed ourselves. There was something there for everyone. I can understand how times have now changed and no one wants holidays like that anymore. We all prefer sunshine not rainy days.

[Holly Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynn Russell and Neil Hanson

Wish you were here

I was recommended this book by my friend as I’m a huge butlins lover and me and my daughter visit 4/5 times a year.
This book I really enjoyed reading about butlins past, some of the red coats and their journeys to their careers at butlins. When I read it it sounded like a completely different holiday to what we experience today that’s because time has moved on.
It’s definitely worth a read.

❤️

[Keith CARTER · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitious but hugely readable. This book took me back some 50 or so years when Butlins was our holiday of choice. The bonny baby competitions, knobbly knees and glamorous grannies ruled your days. Memories abound in this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who stayed or indeed worked at Butlins holiday camps.

[Charlene Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome look back at butlins before we all went abroad. Very God details. Read it whilst on holiday at butlins :)

[Clare Metcalfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cheery look behind the scenes of Butlins in days gone by. An easy read

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an easy read and enjoyable read. Finished it over a weekend. Short stories of girls who became red coats in the Butlins hey days.

[Marie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in Tenerife 2025

[Melanie Rudman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just returned from our Butlins family holiday, I bought this at the last minute from the gift shop. An interesting insight, emotive and encourages you to follow your dreams and how one small step can set you up for life with all the skills and smiles you'll need. What came across intensely is just how much they loved their jobs and would enjoy life and work hard and play hard and still be up smiling the next morning. A spirit that some, not all, today's generation could do with having. Butlins was a family and I believe still is even if times today are different.

[John Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this nostalgic look at the golden age of the holiday camps through the eyes of seven girls who worked there as redcoats. I am not sure there was enough material though to fill almost 300 pages so it tended to become a little repetitive the longer it went on

[Heather Husler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, gives an interesting insight into the life of a redcoat and how the Butlins dynasty all started in 1936. It reads like a magazine article, but found it very interesting since we are going to Butlins at Bognor Regis in a few weeks.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice insight to life in the Butlins era

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable account of life as a redcoat at Butlins in its heyday . Easy to read and a good insight into how different things were for workers and holiday makers during those times.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book # 17 - WISH YOU WERE HERE by Lynn Russell & Neil Hanson. This is about women who were redcoats in Butlin's in its heyday. Pretty interesting, but a bit unfulfilling. 7 out of 10