World War II, Butlin had two camps and a third under construction. By 1939, there were around 200 holiday camps in the United Kingdom, at different seaside locations. During World War I, the Cunningham's holiday camp was used as an internment camp. With the arrival of World War II, the British government realised they could save money by requisitioning the many holiday camps around the country rather than building purpose-built camps for training, stationing troops, internment, and for housing refugees and workers. After the war, most holiday camps in Britain had been damaged by troop occupation; the situation was so bad that questions were raised in Parliament. The war was not bad for all camp owners. Butlin did a deal with the war minister to sell his unfinished Filey camp and to complete the work at a lower price than the army could complete it. Butlin specified a contractual term to ensure that he could buy his camps back from the war ministry as soon as the war was over. Another person to do well out of the war was Fred Pontin. During the war, Pontin was the manager of a camp housing steel and sugar beet workers. Taking over the job, Pontin found that the previous manager had been assaulted by the workers over a disagreement about food. Pontin quickly set about improving the conditions of those workers. After the war, Pontin took a loan and purchased a former military camp at Brean, Somerset which he opened as his first holiday-camp. His company Pontin's was established in 1946. From the end of the war, through the 1950s and into the mid-1960s, the holiday camp industry thrived. By 1964, Warner had 14 camps across the country, Butlin opened his 10th camp in 1966, and Pontin had expanded into providing trips to Mediterranean locations in 1963. Not all ideas took off. Butlin attempted to expand into the Caribbean in the late 1940s, and hoped to expand the market for his camps in the United States, but by 1950 the venture was wound up, and Butlin admitted defeat and focused his efforts back in Europe. Through the 1970s, the market declined as people began to holiday overseas, taking advantage of the new, cheap package holidays. Pontins was least affected, partly as they were already providing package holidays and partly because their smaller camps meant they had fewer beds to fill. Butlins attempted