The latest Westbury Probus meeting saw the meeting of two major players in the entertainment industry, in a guest speaker and outgoing member of the club.
Bruce Hewitson reports, ‘Our speaker was Stephen Wells who started out as a humble redcoat and went on to be in charge of the whole entertainment side of the Butlin’s empire.
‘This not only covered the camps but also the Butlin’s hotel group and, in addition, he was also in charge of entertainment for Rank’s group of hotels at the same time.
‘Stephen told us many funny anecdotes and dropped some very famous names into the talk. Sir Cliff Richard, who was an unknown performer at the Clacton camp. Ringo Starr who, likewise, performed as an unknown drummer before he joined the Beatles. Shirley Bassey, Des O’Connor and Jimmy Tarbuck, who were both fellow redcoats, Pam Ayers and many, many more.
“Stephen also covered Sir Billy Butlin’s career. A boy who left school at thirteen with no qualifications to the multi-millionaire that we all remember. A great story in itself.
“I’m sure we will be seeing Stephen again at Probus. He is a member of the Magic Circle and wants to come and show us the signature tricks of many famous magicians. His lifelong interest is in Jack the Ripper and he would like to come and talk to us about that. Interesting times at Probus!
“The second person to mention is Tony Gorard. Tony was Executive Director of Anglia TV before moving west to head up Harlech Television, HTV.
“Tony is leaving Probus Westbury with his wife Barbara to move to Kent and this was his last meeting. We wish them every success with the move.
“Finally, as the meeting drew to a close Tony and Stephen got together to talk about the people that they both knew in the entertainment industry.”
If you are interested in joining the Probus Club, call Bruce on 07968 662593.
