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Volunteers wanted to help tell holiday camp story

Aimee Dexter
BBC News, Norfolk
Pauline Thompson A grainy image, but in colour, showing five women in identical white tops and blue waistcoats who are marching in a conga line.Pauline Thompson
The holiday parks were known for their distinctive bluecoat staff members

A not-for-profit podcast company has appealed for volunteers to help tell the story of a popular holiday camp.

Soundyard, based in Norwich, wants to share memories of the former Pontins holiday park in Hemsby on the Norfolk coast.

The project, called The Holiday Makers, was awarded a £23,700 grant from Historic England in February.

Sophie Little, one of the founders at Soundyard, said the closed-down park was a "huge part of the village for many, many years".

"It's all about working class history," she explained.

"We wanted to look at how Hemsby has changed as a result of Pontins closing, but also gathering stories of people who have worked in the holiday industry there."

She said the team was looking for people who wanted to learn how to make a documentary and conduct interviews.

"The exciting part of this project with the volunteers is that it's their job to direct it," she added.

Getty Images A black and white photo showing men and women sitting and lounging around a grass area, with holiday cabins in the background.Getty Images
Pontins holiday parks have closed over the decades, including this one in Morecambe, Lancashire. This photograph is believed to be from the 1960s

Ms Little said Historic England had a grant designed for research about rural towns and coastal villages, which led to their Hemsby idea.

At its height, Pontins had 30 destinations across Britain.

It now only has two: Sand Bay Holiday Village in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and Pakefield Holiday Village in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Pontins in Hemsby closed in 2009 and its derelict buildings suffered an arson attack in 2018.

Geograph/Hugh Venables A two-storey building is derelict. The bottom floor's windows are boarded up. A blue painted staircase leads to the second floor. There is grass in the foreground.Geograph/Hugh Venables
Pontins in Hemsby ran for nearly 90 years before closing in 2009

Soundyard was set up in 2023 by former BBC producers Ms Little and Anna Perrott.

Ms Perrott said the team hoped to teach people how to tell their own stories using software and by loaning equipment.

They hope to release the documentary by October.

Anyone interested in taking part in the project, as either a volunteer making it or to share their memories, was asked to email [email protected].

Kerry Curl A colour mid-length photo of two women pictured from the waist up, standing against a plain white backdrop. On the left is a woman in her mid-30s, with long, dark brown hair tied back and then swept forward over her left shoulder. She is wearing a long-sleeved top with red shoulders and sleeves and a mustard-coloured middle section, with a dark blue pocket patch over the left side of her chest. She is looking and smiling, laughing, at the woman standing next to her. She is also in her mid-30s, with shoulder-length red hair worn loose, wearing glasses, and a pale pink top over a pale peach-coloured t-shirt beneath. She is also smiling but looking down at the floor.Kerry Curl
Soundyard founders Anna Perrott and Sophie Little want local people to tell their stories.

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