Butlins Bognor Regis
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 Butlins Bognor Regis
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| Location | Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK |
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| Coordinates | 50°47′06″N 0°39′47″W / 50.7851°N 0.6631°W |
| Subsequent names | Butlin's Bognor (2 July 1960–1987) Southcoast World (1987 – January 1999) Butlins Bognor Regis Resort (January 1999 – Present) |
| Chain | Butlins |
| Opening date | 2 July 1960 |
| Residences | 5,800 (beds) |
| Restaurants | 8 + 3 cafes |
| Other Facilities | Amusement park, swimming pool |
| Total site area | 60 acres (0.24 km2) |
Butlins 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.
In 1914, Billy Butlin was living in Toronto with his mother and stepfather, when he left school and went to work for Eatons department store. One of the best aspects of working for the company was that he was able to visit their summer camp, which gave him his first taste of a real holiday, indeed a taste of what was to become a very big part of his life.
The onset of World War I led to his leaving Eatons and enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force serving in Europe, but seeing little if any action. After the war, Butlin made his way back to England, where he used his last £5 (2011:£189.00) to purchase a stall in his uncle Marshall Hill's travelling fair.
As a showman, Butlin quickly became successful, one stall became several, and several became his own travelling fair. Butlin soon had fixed sites as well as his travelling fair – the first was Olympia in London outside Bertram Mills' Circus. In 1925, he opened a set of Stalls in Barry Island, Wales, where he observed the way landladies in seaside resorts would (sometimes literally) push families out of the lodgings between meals, and began to nurture the idea of a holiday camp similar to that he had attended whilst an employee at Eatons.
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