Holiday Camps in France
Sut,—In asking the question, "Would there not be room for a venture of this kind in Great Britain ? " the writer of the interesting article on holiday camps in France overlooks, or is unaware of, two matters to which perhaps you will allow me to draw attention. She writes of the campers, " their time is organised " ; "they are inevitably rather regimented "health records are carefully kept" ; "they sing under their group leaders" ; and that the State takes a deep interest because of the camps' broad education value. Whilst in France all this may be acceptable to the campers and their leaders, here it would meet with disfavour.
When the Amulree Committee had issued their report on holidays with pay it was seen that the potential number of holiday-takers would increase by many millions, and it was obvious that a number of questions—travel- ling facilities, accommodation, staggering of holidays, the extension of the holiday period—would demand attention. The then Minister of Labour was asked to look into these matters, but replied that holidays were so Intimate and personal a matter as to be outside the scope of Government
or departmental action, and he invited me, as representing a voluntarj organisation, to set up a committee to consider and report upon the man, questions involved. I mention this incident just for the purpose of illus- trating the difference between the French and English outlooks.
The other point overlooked is that for half a century at least voluntary organisations of every sort and kind in this country have been providing holiday camps in addition to the more formal educational holidays arranged by the local authorities. For example, during the peak years in war-time, something like 50,000 boys and girls spent part of their holidays in school harvest camps, and with other camps associated with boys' and girls' clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides and other kindred agencies, the number benefiting each year from such activity must run into several hundred thousand.
The author of the article may hold that the value of such camps is not to be compared with that of the State-subsidised and State-directed camps which she describes, but this must remain a matter of opinion.—! am, Sir,
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