Opened in 1960, the Bognor camp was the first postwar camp built in mainland Britain. Spanning 60 acres, it sat a short distance east of this popular holiday town on England's south coast. Flooding caused by heavy rain had made building difficult, so when the first campers arrived, the camp was not quite finished. They were offered alternative accommodation at Clacton; many took up the offer, but a few also stayed and helped fix doors and window frames. Billy Butlin gave each camper a free bottle of Champagne. When completed, it could accommodate around 5,000 campers and another 5,000 day visitors.
After escaping the first round of closures in the early 1980s, the camp underwent a £16 million facelift in 1987 and was renamed Southcoast World. In common with the other Butlin's sites, the investment included new and updated accommodation as well as a new indoor water complex. Bognor also survived the second round of closures (despite many local rumours) and is now one of only three camps left in the Butlin's empire.
