The History of Searles
1954 – 2009
Back in 1910, William and Alice Searle moved from Whittlesey, near Peterborough and set up a boarding house in Hunstanton. Whilst Alice kept guests returning year after year for her excellent cooking, William invested in a plot of land and bought some donkeys, offering rides along the South Beach during the summer. Winter time he supplemented the family income by setting up as a produce merchant.
William's son Geoffrey fell in love with Hunstanton along with the sea and animals that these shorelines brought and by 1929 he surprised his father by commissioning the building of a motar boat so he could start offering pleasure boat trips to the holiday makers. This was an instant hit.
By summer 1934, after the sad loss of his father, Geoffrey took full charge of the operations, offering sites for tents and caravans on the donkey field as well as his boat trips and donkey rides.
Flying trips were a new attraction, when two famous airwomen, Pauline Gower, the pilot and Dorothy Spicer, her mechanic, brought their Spartan biplane to Hunstanton. From Geoffrey's field they ran flights whilst staying in a genuine old gypsy caravan for the season.
They were joined by stunt man, Bruce Williams, whose parachute jumps entertained many. To add humour to these trips, air passengers could enjoy flour bombing others in a car driven by Bruce or the speedboat below.
This is how Geoffrey met his wife Margaret. Whilst rather nervous of the sea, Margaret went for a ride in the speedboat and a flour bomb scored a direct hit on her navy blue suit covering her with flour. Despite this, she was willing to go back out with Geoffrey who replaced her outfit and married her!
In 1944 Richard, a son to Geoffrey & Margaret was born. Already destined to play a large part in the Searles Resort future, along with Richard's brother William and three sisters, June, Pauline, and Rosemary.
When peace returned after the war, Geoffrey set about reviving his leisure business.
Offering holiday makers a chance to enjoy the sea trips, camping area and not forgetting the donkeys! This soon became extremely popular and quite quickly there were some 50 caravans on site. The summer charge for this was £5 per caravan and £1 for tents!
This success later led to the forming of the private limited company, 'Searles Camping Ground Ltd' in 1954 and the popularity of tourism for both Hunstanton and Searles continued to grow.
In 1981, Geoffrey Searle passed away at the age of 81. A well liked man who never had a bad word to say about anyone.
In 1984 Richard Searle was to become the new Managing Director and with his astute knowledge in tourism, was also elected President of the West Norfolk Chamber of Trade. In 2001, Richard was honoured by the Queen with an MBE for his services to the Holiday Parks Industry.
All of the Searle family has worked together to continue their grand father and fathers dreams. William ( famously known as Captain Willie) and his wife Elizabeth continues to delight holiday makers with wonderful coastal sea tours enjoying views of the Hunstanton cliffs and trips to Seal Island. His famous amphibious carrier, the 'Wash Monster' can be seen regularly along the shoreline along with the pre war DUKW.
Richard and his wife Linda along with Richard's sisters, June, Pauline and Rosemary have continued to build their grandfathers donkey field into a popular family holiday resort set in a scenic memorable location of Hunstanton. Involved in all aspects of the business, the family together have helped to shape this resort to how you see it today. Rosemary and her family continue her grandfather's tradition, delighting the children with her pony rides on the beach and yes, they still have the donkeys!
Richard's eldest son Paul, took over as Managing Director in 2006 and as a keen golfer, has added the unique facility of a 9 hole golf course to the resort. Paul and his wife Victoria has two children, Eleanor and Oliver.
Andrew, second son to Richard and daughter Joanna, both have essential working roles within the present Searles organisation, along with William's three daughters, Aimee, Laura and Rachel.
With future family generations already working alongside their forefathers, the family hope to see the continued history of Searles expand for many years to come.
'As a family resort, our desire is to offer our customers more than just a holiday. We wish to create happiness for all ages. The efforts and dedication of all our staff, helps us to continue to offer individual quality to you, so that when you holiday with us, you really do become part of The Searles Family Album.' Paul Searle. MD
The full story of '50 years of Leisure at Searles', by June Searle is available from Searles Leisure Resort.
