0:00:04 > 0:00:07Just over a century ago the motion camera was invented
0:00:07 > 0:00:10and changed forever the way we recall our history.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13For the first time, we could see life
0:00:13 > 0:00:16through the eyes of ordinary people.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Across this series, we'll bring these rare, archive films
0:00:23 > 0:00:26back to life, with the help of our vintage mobile cinema.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32We'll be inviting people with a story to tell
0:00:32 > 0:00:37to step on board, and relive moments they thought were gone forever.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43They'll see their relatives on screen for the first time,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46come face-to-face with their younger selves,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and celebrate our amazing 20th-century past.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54This is the people's story. Our story.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24Our vintage mobile cinema was originally commissioned in 1967
0:01:24 > 0:01:26to show training films to workers.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31Today, it's been lovingly restored and loaded up with remarkable film footage,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34preserved for us by the British Film Institute
0:01:34 > 0:01:37and other national and regional film archives.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42In this series we'll be travelling to towns and cities across the country,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44and showing films from the 20th century
0:01:44 > 0:01:47that give us the Reel History of Britain.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Today, we're pulling up in the 1950s...
0:01:56 > 0:02:00..to celebrate the heyday of the British seaside holiday.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15We've come to Blackpool, the biggest seaside town in the country.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18All day we'll be showing archive films from the 1950s
0:02:18 > 0:02:20about British seaside holidays,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23with people who have experiences of those holidays at that time.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33Coming up: The British knack for having a good time, whatever the weather.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38It was a typical summer's time - freezing rain, gales blowing!
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Comedian Les Dennis salutes seaside entertainment.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46It's popular culture. You don't come to see an art gallery,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49you come for the kiss-me-quick and the candy floss,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52the donkeys on the beach, and, for me, certainly for the shows.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57And one former resident is transported back to her youth
0:02:57 > 0:02:59to see herself as she was in 1957.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It seems a lifetime ago.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07You know - am I still that same girl on that ride?
0:03:16 > 0:03:21We've come to Blackpool today because it's still Britain's most visited seaside resort.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24It's currently undergoing a multi-million pound facelift,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and up to 13 million visitors flock here every year.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31This is a special place for me,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33because I used to come here as a boy.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47In the 1950s, a week, or two, beside the seaside
0:03:47 > 0:03:51was the highlight of the year for the British working class.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53The Holidays With Pay Act in 1938
0:03:53 > 0:03:56had recommended an annual week's holiday for workers.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It was an important landmark in British social history,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04recognizing the benefits of a break from the rigours of work,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and it meant that holidays were no longer the sole preserve
0:04:07 > 0:04:10of the upper and middle classes.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14ARCHIVE: 'Holidays with pay will help to turn many dreams into realities.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16'The odd day's excursion of a few years ago
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'will become the regular week's holiday for the whole family,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23'for young and old alike.'
0:04:25 > 0:04:29World War Two stopped most people taking advantage of holidays,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32but in 1945, six years after the war had begun,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35the British public were in great need of a holiday,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39and seaside resorts enjoyed an explosion in popularity.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48'Doing battle with the British weather here today in Blackpool
0:04:48 > 0:04:50'are people from all over the country
0:04:50 > 0:04:55'with stories to tell about their holidays, and our seaside resorts.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'Many of them
0:04:57 > 0:05:00'will be seeing the films we're about to screen for the first time.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02'They'll be showing us family photos,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05'and revealing what life was really like
0:05:05 > 0:05:08'for millions of holidaymakers at that time.'
0:05:08 > 0:05:09Morning...
0:05:10 > 0:05:15'Roger Billington grew up in Oldham. His dad was a sheet metal worker.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'His family used to wait all year
0:05:17 > 0:05:20'for the annual wakes week holiday from the factory,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23'and they enjoyed every minute of it.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25'Roger's passion was holiday camps - as was mine.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30'And he's come to share those happy boyhood memories with all of us.'
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Can you tell us how you fell in love with Butlin's?
0:05:33 > 0:05:35I think it goes back to my mum's days.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39My mum went on holiday when she was a youngster in 1936,
0:05:39 > 0:05:40so it's in the blood.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I used to go to Butlin's, to Ayr, with my mother.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45We went for four or five years.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48And everything was free, was the great thing -
0:05:48 > 0:05:50roller-skating was free, you'd go dancing free.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It was fantastic.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56We're about to show Roger rarely seen footage,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00as factories closed and workers headed off
0:06:00 > 0:06:04for the annual wakes week holidays he loved so much as a young boy.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09What memories will our film bring back to him?
0:06:13 > 0:06:16I mean, you needed that break -
0:06:16 > 0:06:19your dad were doing a hard job, sheet metal worker in the factory,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22they closed the factory down for two weeks...
0:06:22 > 0:06:23and it was wonderful!
0:06:26 > 0:06:28The machinery would fall silent,
0:06:28 > 0:06:33and chimneys stop belching smoke, as the whole town headed for the coast.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Roger loved going to Wales best of all.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38We got on the train, me and my older brother,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41finished up in the luggage rack, falling asleep.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Woke up in Pwllheli, and the Redcoats would meet you there
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and I thought, "Wow, Redcoats! Superstars."
0:06:50 > 0:06:52This BBC holiday programme
0:06:52 > 0:06:55is reviewing holiday camps across Britain.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The Butlin's adverts promised, "A week's holiday for a week's wages."
0:06:58 > 0:07:02That was around £35 for Roger's family in 1951.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08The film puts Roger right back in the little chalets of his childhood.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13'The chalets measure 12 ft by 10 and take up to four of you at a time.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15'They all have hot and cold water,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18'all have a standard Butlin pattern of ships on the curtains,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23'and have rough cast walls painted yellow, and corrugated iron roofs.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26'In some chalets, the pipes go "gurgle" all through the night.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Butlin's at that time was all full-board -
0:07:31 > 0:07:35it was four restaurants, on two sittings...
0:07:35 > 0:07:38'10 million eggs disappear into Butlin's campers every year.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41'3,000 tonnes of potatoes,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43'1.5 million pounds of bacon,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47'280,000 pounds of boneless leg of lamb...'
0:07:48 > 0:07:51This is Radio Butlin calling...
0:07:51 > 0:07:56The Radio Butlin announcer was the main person.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59If she didn't get up in the morning, nothing happened!
0:07:59 > 0:08:03It was 7:30 - "Good morning, campers! The time is 7:30."
0:08:03 > 0:08:06And a lot of people, after experiencing that,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10used to come along with cutters, and cut the cable in the chalets!
0:08:12 > 0:08:16"Come along to the Princess Ballroom at 2:30, we have the Holiday Princess...
0:08:16 > 0:08:20"Bring your swimming costume, get your mum to get involved..."
0:08:20 > 0:08:23There were bonny babies, knobbly knees,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27glamorous grandmothers - it was something for everyone.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Now, I entered the Young Tarzan competition.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34I thought I was fit enough to be a seven-year-old Charles Atlas.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I never got anywhere, it was a great disappointment.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41I don't think I've uncovered my body since then! No, no, no, no...
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Roger's memories are brought even closer to home
0:08:47 > 0:08:50by this amateur film, shot by Eric Bolderson at Butlin's in Filey
0:08:50 > 0:08:53in 1957, when home movies were becoming all the rage.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Seeing the films themselves, it's just a great feeling,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06to see people on holiday in the '50s enjoying themselves.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11But it was the Redcoats who were the real stars for Roger.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13The Redcoats were your friends.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17In fact they had a saying - "a friend, philosopher and guide."
0:09:17 > 0:09:20You ate with them, you had drinks with them.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23The Redcoat would probably dance with your mum -
0:09:23 > 0:09:25you thought, "Ooh...!"
0:09:25 > 0:09:28It was something which always appealed,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and they looked a happy lot, you know.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33The Redcoats, I worshipped them.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35I thought, "One day. Maybe, maybe."
0:09:35 > 0:09:38But you had to be 18 to be a Redcoat.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40And that day happened, actually,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42because I became a Redcoat in the end.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44And it was wonderful.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Great fun.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56One thing I have brought, because I've got to give it you...
0:09:56 > 0:09:591955 - Butlin's, Pwllheli! Just for you.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- Somewhere or other, I've got my Ayr badge.- Have you really?
0:10:02 > 0:10:03That was a piper.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06- Oh, yes! Pretty collectable. - Are they collectable?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09I'll have to find it, it's in a drawer somewhere.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- Thank you very much for this. I'll look after it.- Yeah.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Today on Reel History we've brought our bucket and spade to Blackpool
0:10:22 > 0:10:26and parked our mobile cinema in the shadow of its iconic tower.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30The Tower was completed in 1894, five years after
0:10:30 > 0:10:33the famous Parisian landmark that the Northern town copied.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39'Entertainer Les Dennis has come to talk about
0:10:39 > 0:10:41'his lifelong relationship with the town,
0:10:41 > 0:10:42'not just as a comedian
0:10:42 > 0:10:45'but as a childhood holidaymaker from Liverpool.'
0:10:45 > 0:10:47What are your own first memories of Blackpool?
0:10:47 > 0:10:52The first memory I have of Blackpool is coming here with my family and I can remember
0:10:52 > 0:10:53like all kids, we were like,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56"Dad, are we nearly there yet?" "No, we're not nearly there yet."
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Look out for the tower, you'll know we're there. You'll see the tower.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Obviously every pylon we saw - "Dad, is that the tower?" "There it is!"
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And when we saw it was so exciting to see it from that distance.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09For a kid, it was amazing.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16The lovely thing about Blackpool is, it's unpretentious.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19People do jokes about guys on the prom selling seagulls,
0:11:19 > 0:11:20a pound a go.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Which one's mine? That one!
0:11:22 > 0:11:25It doesn't take itself too seriously.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26It knows what it's about.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28It's popular culture.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30You don't come to see an art gallery.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33You come for the kiss-me-quick, the candy floss,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36the donkeys on the beach, and, for me, certainly for the shows.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39So how did you feel the first time you performed here?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It was like reaching the Mecca of entertainment.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I didn't get to get on to the North Pier until 1979
0:11:44 > 0:11:47with Russ Abbot and the Black Abbots.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49But I was thrilled. I was bottom of the bill,
0:11:49 > 0:11:50but I'd arrived.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54I'd got to a summer season at the North Pier.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57'People came here,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02'to places like Blackpool to be entertained above all else.'
0:12:03 > 0:12:05The biggest wheels, the biggest rides,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09more slot machines than anywhere else, donkeys on the beach.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I had a great time here when I was a kid.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14'But the season meant unremitting hard work
0:12:14 > 0:12:19'for the people whose income depended on the seaside tourist trade.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25'I'm meeting someone who knows all about the tremendous effort
0:12:25 > 0:12:28'that went into ensuring holiday makers had the time of their lives.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33'Dame Sandra Burslem grew up here in Blackpool and went on
0:12:33 > 0:12:37'to become Vice Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41'Her parents ran a small hotel here
0:12:41 > 0:12:45'and she's come along to give us a glimpse of life behind the scenes.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:48You were brought up in a boarding house here in Blackpool?
0:12:48 > 0:12:51My parents owned a small hotel on the North Promenade,
0:12:51 > 0:12:52near Cocker Square.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56My grandfather was the licensee of the Derby Hotel
0:12:56 > 0:12:58which was just round the corner from that.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00What were the 50s like for you?
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Growing up in Blackpool is quite unique in a lot of ways. I've got an older brother,
0:13:05 > 0:13:11and my brother made himself a wooden carts on wheels.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14And he used to go to the train station every Saturday morning
0:13:14 > 0:13:18and offered to take people to their hotels or their boarding houses,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and charge them less than a taxi would charge.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25So he showed his entrepreneurial skill acquired young age.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Sandra's got another reason for coming along today.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32She actually appears in a very special film from 1957
0:13:32 > 0:13:34that we're showing today.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37How will she feel about watching pictures
0:13:37 > 0:13:40that capture the days of her youth?
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Journey's End is also a beginning.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Sun and breeze bring a first reviving whiff and promise
0:13:47 > 0:13:49of the world of Holiday.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52The young Sandra became involved in the filming
0:13:52 > 0:13:54due to a chance encounter.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57I remember the day exceedingly well.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00I was walking to get the tram at the Pleasure Beach.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01And a man came over to me
0:14:01 > 0:14:06and he said, "I'm making a film. Will you come and be part of it?"
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I said, "Come on, pull the other one."
0:14:09 > 0:14:13And he said, "No, I'm serious, I'm serious. I'm making a film."
0:14:13 > 0:14:19So he got this camera attached to this car on the little dipper,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21not the great big dipper.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23But as we started
0:14:23 > 0:14:25he said, "Come on, shout, shout! scream, scream!"
0:14:25 > 0:14:27"You're having a great time, come on!"
0:14:27 > 0:14:30So I obliged,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32and sort of laughed and screamed for him,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34and he did about three takes of it.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39And I got off, and he said, "Thanks very much", and I walked to the tram
0:14:39 > 0:14:41and I thought no more of it.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48In one way, it doesn't seem like well over 50 years ago.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51In another way, it seems a lifetime ago.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Am I still that same girl on that ride?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59With her poppets round her neck.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02I remember those poppets, they were the latest fashion.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07The film was made by British Transport to promote holidays
0:15:07 > 0:15:09and the cinematographer, David Watkin,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12went on to win an Oscar for his work.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17In this film his team used a hidden camera in a cardboard box
0:15:17 > 0:15:21to capture unselfconscious images of the visitors at leisure.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27But while the holiday makers relaxed Sandra's family worked non-stop
0:15:27 > 0:15:29to cater for their guests.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It's not all fun. People have to work very hard.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36We had a waitress and chambermaid.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40They were probably paid £2.50 or £3 a week.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43That wasn't a lot of money, and there was no day off.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47They worked six and a half days a week.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So they had a half day off during the season.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54People have forgotten that's what work was like then really.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Blackpool became a well-oiled Lancashire machine
0:15:57 > 0:16:00set up to cater for the mass of visitors.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03People saved up 50 weeks of the year
0:16:03 > 0:16:06in order to be able to afford to come to Blackpool for two weeks.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10You'd have a room with two double beds in
0:16:10 > 0:16:13and two families, who'd never met each other before,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17would be sharing that same room.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Can you imagine that happening now?
0:16:19 > 0:16:23How much times have changed.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26The landladies and hoteliers made sure holidaymakers
0:16:26 > 0:16:30ate their tea in time for the evening's entertainments.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Well, the meals were at a set time, and yes,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35you did expect people to be there at 5:00pm.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41If they said, "We're going to the first house of the Opera House",
0:16:41 > 0:16:45that would start at 6:00 or 6:15pm, so they made sure they went out.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Many of the shows had two performances a night,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51so the people in all of the shows worked incredibly hard as well.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55There was something to do 24 hours a day if you wanted it.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Today on Reel History, we're on holiday in Blackpool
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and we're going to the Winter Gardens -
0:17:12 > 0:17:16one of the great entertainment venues on earth, in my humble opinion.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23The Winter Gardens was built on a six-acre estate more than 130 years ago
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and it's been added to ever since.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27It's fantastic.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Wow.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33I'm meeting the historian, Professor Vanessa Toulmin, for a guided tour.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37This was the original dome.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41So the first thing you saw when you came off North Station was this dome
0:17:41 > 0:17:44to make people realise where the Winter Gardens was
0:17:44 > 0:17:46and it was opened in 1878.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50I've been here two or three times but I've never wandered round.
0:17:50 > 0:17:51I had no idea of just the size of it.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55It's the largest entertainment complex of its kind in the world.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58It has a capacity of 16,000 when everything's opened.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59So it's quite amazing.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01This has just been renovated by the council.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04In the '50s, there was a huge fountain here
0:18:04 > 0:18:07and there was fernery all the way around.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10So the term Winter Gardens was to bring the outdoor indoors.
0:18:12 > 0:18:19This is the Floral Hall, and this is the original 1878 framework,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22so the idea was that you came in here when it rained,
0:18:22 > 0:18:23which often it did,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26and you could perambulate and meet your social betters,
0:18:26 > 0:18:31so the mill girl and the lady could mingle in the Winter Gardens.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34'Blackpool was Britain's biggest show town outside London's West End
0:18:34 > 0:18:37'and the stars performed to packed houses
0:18:37 > 0:18:39'at the Winter Gardens Opera House.'
0:18:39 > 0:18:41What's the seating?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Just over 3,000.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46And so Sinatra's been here?
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Sinatra was here in 1950 and 1953.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Judy Garland was here, Sammy Davies Jnr, Bob Hope,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and then we had the Royal Variety performance,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58the first one outside London, in 1955.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02It's completely unchanged since it was built in 1939.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04That's absolutely original, everything there.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Blackpool may have been the biggest resort in the '50s
0:19:11 > 0:19:14but you could escape to the seaside wherever you lived.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Each part of the country had its own resort.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21The Lancashire mill towns headed for Blackpool or Morecambe,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24while Yorkshire went east to the likes of Whitby and Scarborough.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30If you lived in the south, you went to Bournemouth or Brighton.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34My next guest, Elaine Greerley,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38remembers how people enjoyed those holidays a couple of a generations ago.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Elaine's come to remember one holiday in particular.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Now you went for your honeymoon to a seaside resort.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49Oh yeah. We went to Rhyl, yeah.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52In a little caravan that somebody lent us.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55It was typical summer's time, you know.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Freezing rain, gales blowing.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03We went for a walk on the prom and as we were walking,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06we looked across and we could see these people sat
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and it was where they had these Piero shows
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and the next thing, the music starts up.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14# Having a wonderful time! #
0:20:16 > 0:20:20It was like an in-joke with us both for years afterwards.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23If anything was going wrong, we were a bit down,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I'd come out of the kitchen going, # Having a wonderful time! #
0:20:29 > 0:20:31We're going to show Elaine captivating footage
0:20:31 > 0:20:33from the National Archives.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36What memories will the films evoke for her?
0:20:42 > 0:20:47It was amazing because it brought back memories that I'd forgotten.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Sitting on the deckchairs with their suits on!
0:20:51 > 0:20:55And jackets and ties, you know, all buttoned up!
0:20:55 > 0:20:58The nearest they'd get to disrobing was taking their socks off
0:20:58 > 0:21:00and rolling trousers up, you know!
0:21:00 > 0:21:03You do forget things like that.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09But standards of service in some of the boarding houses
0:21:09 > 0:21:11could leave a little to be desired.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15The landladies did have a bad reputation
0:21:15 > 0:21:18for not being very friendly.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23The worst one I ever remember was, we went to the Isle of Man.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27And the first morning, she served us kippers.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I didn't want kippers and my little brother didn't want kippers
0:21:30 > 0:21:32and so very begrudgingly,
0:21:32 > 0:21:33VERY begrudgingly
0:21:33 > 0:21:38she brought us some toast, I think it was like one slice each.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39And that was it.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44But my parents didn't complain! My mother never said a word, neither did my dad.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Families like Elaine's helped make our resorts so popular at peak times
0:21:48 > 0:21:54that the Government felt compelled to make propaganda films encouraging staggered holidays.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58'If half took holidays in June...
0:21:58 > 0:22:01'or September...
0:22:02 > 0:22:06'..then everyone would get away with a comfortable holiday.'
0:22:06 > 0:22:10The Government hadn't reckoned on the British fighting spirit.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Elaine remembers how holiday-makers made the best of it,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15come wind, rain or even shine.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20It was a common sight to see them sat in their deckchairs with their umbrellas up.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24That was hilarious but people didn't care.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28So it's raining, we're on our holidays, we're having a good time.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Whether we get wet through freezing cold, finish up with pneumonia or what!
0:22:32 > 0:22:34We're having a good time. It's our holiday.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36We're going to enjoy it.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38And I think that attitude is fantastic.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Today on Reel History, we're in Blackpool.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58If you didn't come for the rest, the food, the crowds, the weather,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02or the shows, you came here to Blackpool to dance.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Jack Reavely was a Scottish ballroom dancing champion,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10who first came here in 1950.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12My mother and father were dancers
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and they brought me with them to be a spectator.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18From then on, I was hooked on the ballroom dancing.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Is it true you've been here every year since?
0:23:21 > 0:23:26I've been here every year since 1950, yes. At the same boarding house.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28- Can I have a look at your...?- Yes!
0:23:28 > 0:23:31This is a photo taken after the first round of the competition.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36We were lucky because my wife and I are just there, in the middle.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Oh, yeah. Right there.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Jack's about to relive the romance of the ballroom,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49where he began two life-long love affairs -
0:23:49 > 0:23:52with his wife and dancing, as the past comes flooding back.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Seeing the films brought back so many memories from my own youth.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02I saw all of these people dancing around in the ballroom
0:24:02 > 0:24:04and I thought, "wow!"
0:24:04 > 0:24:07All the men had suits. They saved up for them.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10£17 made to measure.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14The mill girls used to come over from Lancashire mills,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18beautiful girls, dresses down to their ankles.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Wide underskirts, ten yards of net underneath the underskirts.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24They just wanted to dance and dance.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30In its heyday, the Tower Ballroom was a magnet for up to 1,000 dancers
0:24:30 > 0:24:34at a time and Jack remembers how many matches were made.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35The girls went to the ballroom
0:24:35 > 0:24:39hoping that perhaps the man of their dreams would walk in,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43ask them for a dance, whisk them away and they would feel like a princess.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45It brought back so many memories.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48It was like seeing yesterday today.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58'We can't leave the Tower Ballroom without remembering
0:24:58 > 0:25:02'an attraction that was built beneath it - the Tower Circus.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07Blackpool's most famous clown in the 1950s was Charlie Cairoli,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11'who turned on the slapstick here for nearly 40 years.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16'His son Charlie Jnr has come to share his memories of the father he idolised.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21'The clown they flocked to see at one of the country's oldest permanent circuses.'
0:25:21 > 0:25:25Can you tell us what sort of audience he got and what effect he had on them?
0:25:25 > 0:25:29People laughing. It was like a crystal bell.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31It was the pure sound of people laughing.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Our job, and is still is now,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36is if we can make people forget their problems for five minutes,
0:25:36 > 0:25:37we're doing our job.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43Today Charlie is about to see his father in a holiday film from 1950.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46He's never seen the footage before.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49What memories will it bring back for him?
0:25:53 > 0:25:57He came to Blackpool in '39 and he stayed there till 1979.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01People used to come every year and they loved it!
0:26:01 > 0:26:05That's how I remember my father when I was a kid.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07He was making people laugh.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Charlie the Clown dedicated his life to making others laugh.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17He died in 1980, just a year after he retired.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21It was only when he died that you realised what effect he had on people's lives.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28Charlie Jnr remembers vividly the moving tributes from his father's fans.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Things that people wrote was incredible, it was really nice.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36"I took my wife on the first date to the Tower and we laughed."
0:26:36 > 0:26:39You know, "Charlie, you proposed to my wife for me."
0:26:41 > 0:26:45A lot of people called him famous. He was just my dad.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Charlie Cairoli. Worked in Blackpool for 39 years.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Fabulous dad and I think a fabulous clown.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I've not seen the like to match him yet.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00You must've enjoyed seeing your dad on film?
0:27:00 > 0:27:03It was fantastic actually. It brought back many memories.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05The real critics were the landladies.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- They came in for a preview, free of course.- Oh, yeah.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Then they gave you the thumbs up or thumbs down.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14The landladies and taxi drivers.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17The taxi drivers used to pick the people up from the shows.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19They used to listen at the back of the taxis,
0:27:19 > 0:27:21they'd say, "That was an awful show"
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Or, "never laughed so much in my life!"
0:27:23 > 0:27:26People would ask the taxi driver, "What's the good shows?"
0:27:26 > 0:27:29"I picked someone up from the North Pier, they were fantastic!"
0:27:29 > 0:27:32They could kill a show - or make it.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40It wasn't until the '70s that the popularity
0:27:40 > 0:27:43of British seaside resorts started to wane,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46as cheap flights offered the promise of foreign travel and sunshine.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53But there'll always be a place beside the British seaside in my heart
0:27:53 > 0:27:55and in those of millions of others too.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I've had a terrific time here in Blackpool.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04These places, these resorts which people like us could go to
0:28:04 > 0:28:09for the first time to really take part in a big leisure life,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12which was fun and intense and wonderfully enjoyable
0:28:12 > 0:28:14and we were determined to enjoy it.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16That was a massive part of my childhood
0:28:16 > 0:28:20and I'm very grateful to it and very grateful to Blackpool.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24And that's it from Reel History.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27In this series, we've travelled from seaside towns
0:28:27 > 0:28:29to industrial riverbanks.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34And from sleepy fishing ports to London's biggest tourist hotspots.
0:28:34 > 0:28:40We visited museums, coalmines, villages and city centres.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44I'm grateful to everyone who's given their time and their memories
0:28:44 > 0:28:47to Reel History and I hope you've enjoyed it too.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk