Clacton-on-Sea possible invasion beach-head for Napoleon and his Dutch allies. There was a large army and militia camp where Holland-on-Sea now stands. In 1810 5 Martello Towers were built there to guard the beaches between Jaywick and Holland. Clacton was still a small village and a few outlying hamlets when the Essex railway engineer Peter Bruff, the steamboat owner William Jackson, and a group of businessmen built a pier and hotel there in the 1871. In the 1880s the Great Eastern Railway reached it, and it grew into the largest seaside resort between Southend and Yarmouth, with some 10,000 people by
Butlin's Clacton the west of the town. After gaining the support of the local council, construction began and the camp opened on 11 June 1938. During the War years, all the Butlin's camps were requisitioned by the Government. Clacton was originally planned to be used as a POW camp, but it was spared this indignity and was used as a training site for the pioneer corps. However during its occupation, the camp suffered significant damage and substantial repairs had to be carried out to put the camp back into operation. It reopened to the public in 1946. In 1972, the Butlin's organisation