Butlin's Bognor Regis is a holiday camp in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It lies 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. History In 1932, Butlin saw an opportunity to create a similar amusement park in Bognor Regis to the one he had in Skegness. Butlin purchased land on the corner of Lennox Street and the Esplanade, which had previously been the Olympian Gardens. Butlin constructed his amusement park on the land and called it "Butlin's Recreation Shelter". In 1928, Butlin had secured an exclusive license to sell Dodgem cars in Europe, and these were one of the first attractions in the shelter along with one-armed bandits. The shelter was a popular venue with the local press of the time reporting that patrons could "meet the elite" there. The following year, Butlin opened a zoo on the seafront. It opened on 5 July and contained brown, black and polar bears, hyenas, leopards, pelicans, kangaroos, and monkeys. The zoo had a snake pit as its star attraction where Togo the snake king would regularly give shows. The site also For some time, the park in Bognor was run by Butlin's mother Bertha Butlin though she later left to run his park on Hayling Island. During World War II, the park at Bognor was a cause for concern for Butlin. The park had always had a shooting range and during the late 1930s the targets were replaced with images of Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, and Ribbentrop. After the Battle of Dunkirk, Butlin became concerned that should the Germans invade the south coast, the first thing they might see was the gallery, making Butlin into a target. Butlin's Holiday Camp In late 1959, Butlin was looking to open another camp in the town and reached a deal with Bognor Regis town