Butlins Redcoats

Redcoats with former England football player George Cohen, March 2011

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).

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.

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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]

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 Margaret) 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.