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Drayton Manor Theme Park 60 years of success


The amusement and theme park industry has a long and distinguished history, as do many of the venues that are part of the business today, particularly those in Europe and the US. The UK is home to many parks, both inland and on the


coast, originally founded by family based, often husband and wife, partnerships and while today some have succumbed to the “corporate” takeover, many continue under the ownership of private operators and in many cases members of the same family. An excellent case in point is Drayton Manor Theme Park,


one of the UK’s most popular theme park destinations, which first opened its gates at Easter, 1950, and so this year has been celebrating its 60th anniversary. The story behind Drayton Manor, situated near Tamworth


in Staffordshire, not far from the city of Birmingham, is particularly fascinating. It was opened at a time, shortly after the end of the Second World War, when people were clamouring for opportunities for a day out and when families were happy to take a bus into the countryside for afternoon tea, a few simple leisure activities and the chance to spend a relaxing few hours in the fresh air away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the factory life so many of them knew during the week. And being close to Birmingham, potential visitors were plentiful. Recognising the potential of the Drayton Manor estate,


George and Vera Bryan purchased the site in 1949, arriving in the October of that year to begin their new life as the owners and operators of the park. The site had previously been home to British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, one of the most important men in Britain during the 19th. century.


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Well-known for many notable Acts of Parliament and policies, including the founding of the Metropolitan Police in 1829, he built an imposing house on the Drayton site, although this was demolished in 1926, seven years after the Sir Robert Peel family went bankrupt. In 1939, at the start of the war, the army took over the


site, occupying it for the duration of hostilities but then leaving it when it became surplus to requirements, in a poor state of disrepair, to become ramshackle and overgrown. In a book on the park’s history by George and Vera


Bryan, George recalls what they were faced with when they first arrived in October, 1949. “It was a total rubbish heap when we took it over. Much


of the ground was swamped and both lakes were blocked up with all kinds of rubbish. Initially, people living in the locality thought we were barmy to want to undertake such a project!” The challenge before them was clearly immense and as


well as the physical hardships of clearing the site, goods were all still in short supply, so everything found on site was put to some use, even down to straightening out old nails to use them again. “We were truly living in the land of make-do-and-mend,”


George comments. With the help of some


very loyal employees, an enormous amount of hard work and a determination to be open the following spring, George and Vera set about transforming


PARKLIFE


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