REDCOATS and other former staff from Barry Island Butlins gave a well-rehearsed ‘Hi-de-Hi’ to a blue plaque commemorating the former holiday camp.

The entertainers celebrated the installation of the plaque, paid for by private subscription, in a ceremony that saw Vale mayor, Cllr Howard Hamilton unveil the honour, and Lady Sheila Butlin – wife of Butlins’ founder and philanthropist Billy – send her best wishes to the re-united staff, on Saturday, September 27.

The plaque adorns a wall on the new seafront garden on Barry Island, at the Eastern promenade.

Butlins Holiday Camp opened in 1966 after its operator, showman Sir William 'Billy' Butlin devised the leisure concept – starting in other areas of the UK – having spent a wet week’s holiday in Barry Island in the 1920s.

The Barry part of his empire was the last holiday camp to open and, when it did open it wasn’t finished and a free bottle of champagne was given to campers.

The smallest Butlins site covered 45 acres, accommodated 5,000 and employed up to 1,000 staff at any one time before it closed in 1986.

Comedians Bob Monkhouse, Mike Reid and Bernard Manning and singing stars like Matt Monroe and Frankie Vaughan also appeared at the Barry Island camp.

A group of ex-Redcoats devised the idea of using a plaque to commemorate the camp and, having raised the money and had the plaque manufactured, approached the Vale Council with the idea.

Also attending the ceremony were 90-year-old David Simpson, of High Street, Barry, who was the original entertainments manager, and Steuart Kingsley-Innes, who along with John Wilson – who died last year – was also one of the camp’s entertainment managers from the early 70s until it closed.

Steuart said: “It was fantastic. People can’t imagine what it was like. When the end of the season came – on the last Saturday in September – people got out as fast as they could because it was sad and we sang We’ll Meet Again.

“The most memorable thing was being part of a Butlins tradition. Lady Sheila Butlin has written and said: “Sir Billy would be very proud that you are honouring Sir Billy in this way.”

Dave Simpson added: “The man was a genius. He made the first week £3.10 which was the average weekly wage of the poorer people in Britain.

“My wife and I (Tina) just loved it.”

Among the Redcoats at the ceremony were ‘Scotty’ Dotty Boyle and Leo Freedman who worked the Barry camp in a variety of seasons during its life.

Kelly Kelleher, 61, the radio Butlin announcer, was the equivalent of Hi-de-Hi’s Gladys Pugh.

She said: “I used to play We’ll Keep a Welcome. I used to have to run down the arcades to get the news. We had a xylophone and did the announcements.

“I have wonderful memories of continuing family. We have reunions and do coffee mornings. I’d do it all over again. They were the best years of my life.”