CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by WestminsterResearch WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch The very model of a modern travel agency? The Polytechnic Touring Association 1888-1962 Neil Matthews Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2013. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] THE VERY MODEL OF A MODERN TRAVEL AGENCY? THE POLYTECHNIC TOURING ASSOCIATION 1888-1962 NEIL MATTHEWS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2013 1 Abstract This thesis provides an original contribution to the history of modern British travel and tourism, in the form of the first full-length analysis of the Polytechnic Touring Association (PTA). It seeks to establish whether the PTA was distinctive among contemporary travel agencies; whether it was successful; and in what senses it might be considered as ‘modern’. Apart from Thomas Cook, virtually no modern British travel agency has been the subject of detailed historical investigation. Beginning with an examination of the PTA’s late Victorian origins in its parent institution, Quintin Hogg’s Polytechnic, the thesis contextualises both organisations within a wider history of leisure, with specific reference to ‘rational recreation’ and respectability. Using Polytechnic records and comparative material from other emerging travel agencies, it builds a profile of the early PTA’s operations including the key managers and staff members, the finances and the evolving portfolio of UK and foreign destinations. It considers accounts of Polytechnic/PTA tours from the inhouse magazine, again in conjunction with comparative material from other agencies, situating those accounts in the context of postcolonial theories relating to travel writing, in particular Orientalism and anti-conquest. Finally, it traces the PTA’s history as a privately owned company between 1911 and 1962, siting the company within historiographical debates on modernity. The overall conclusion is that the PTA was a distinctive, significant and successful player in the growing British travel and tourism industry. While other travel agencies had ‘rational recreational’ and educational origins, the PTA was distinctive in terms of the numbers of tourists for whom it catered and the balance of its portfolio. Polytechnic/PTA travel accounts up to 1911, considered as a body of writing, formed an ideology of ‘collective Continentalism’ which represented aspects of modernity. Their emphasis on simple fun and enjoyment suggested a degree of willingness to edge close to the boundaries of respectability while on holiday. After its change of status in 1911, the PTA became an effective adaptor to changing economic and social conditions – if not the pioneer it claimed to be, in emulation of the Polytechnic. By its latter days in the 1950s, now known as Poly Travel, it was a sizeable and well-respected firm, though not as modern – in the sense of being new and innovative – as perhaps it had been in its early years. 2 Contents Acknowledgements 4 Author’s declaration 5 Abbreviated references 6 Chapter 1: Introduction 7 Chapter 2: The origins of the PTA 39 Chapter 3: Growth, diversification, scrutiny, debate 72 Chapter 4: Values and value for money 99 Chapter 5: Representations of abroad in travel accounts 130 Chapter 6: From independence to acquisition 163 Chapter 7: Conclusion 196 Bibliography 204 Tables Table 1: Continental and general tours account, 1902-1911 125 Table 2: Cruises account, 1902-1911 126 Table 3: PTA profits and donations to the Polytechnic, 1895-1911 127 Table 4: PTA donations to the Polytechnic, 1921-1939 175 Table 5: Principal destinations for PTA bookings, 1955-1956 189 Table 6: Press advertising 1st quarters 1953-1955 by PTA et al 190 3 Acknowledgements I am grateful to the University of Westminster and to the Quintin Hogg Trust for giving me the opportunity to research and write this thesis and also the travel chapter for Educating Mind, Body and Spirit: Quintin Hogg and the legacy of the Polytechnic, 1864-1992. Within the University, many thanks are due to Dr Mark Clapson, as my Director of Studies, and to Mr Tony Gorst and Professor Richard Harding, as my other supervisors, who have been supportive at all times; to the Archives team of Elaine Penn, Anna McNally and Claire Brunnen; to the Editorial Board of Educating Mind, Body and Spirit; and to others in various departments. Anna McNally’s work in translating material from Lucerne’s State Archives from the original German was invaluable. Sara Dominici, whose doctoral investigations have concerned the use of photography in PTA publications, provided interesting insights into her research. Others who have provided assistance include Paul Smith of Thomas Cook; Tony Lees of Manchester County Records Office; Sinead Wheeler of Toynbee Hall; and Harry Wroe of the Holiday Fellowship. I am indebted to archivists and other staff at the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA); BBC Written Archives; the British Library; the British Newspaper Archive; the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies; the John Murray Archive; the Churchill Archives Centre; the National Library of Scotland; the History of Advertising Trust; the Hotel Seeburg in Lucerne, Switzerland; Lochaber Archives Centre; the London Metropolitan Archives; Manx National Heritage; Marylebone Cricket Club; the National Railway Museum; Plymouth & West Devon Record Office; the Royal Geographical Society; the Scottish Screen Archive; the State Archives in Lucerne; Travel Trade Gazette; and Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre. Thanks are also due to Harold Bamberg; Professor Wendy Bracewell; Dr Sandra Dawson; Professor Richard Edwards; Professor David French; Dr Helen Glew; Dr Angus Gowland; Dr Betty Hagglund; Dr Michael Heller; Douglas Hope; Ben Mechen; Nazneen Razwi; Dr Bernhard Rieger; Dr Robert Snape; Maurice and Sheila Steer; Dr Michele Strong; and to delegates who gave feedback on presentations to the ‘Borders and Crossings’, ‘Educating Mind, Body and Spirit’ and ‘Recording Leisure Lives’ conferences. Finally, I would have been unable to start this research, or to complete it, without the encouragement and support of my wife Helen. 4 Author’s declaration I declare that all the material contained in this thesis is my own work. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: _________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________________________________ 5 Abbreviated references The following references appear in the body of the thesis or in the footnotes. In general, book or article titles are used in full for the first citation and in abbreviated form for further citations. ABTA Association of British Travel Agents BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BEA British European Airways BL British Library BMRB British Market Research Bureau BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation BTA British Travel Association CAC Churchill Archives Centres, Cambridge CBS Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies CHA Co-operative Holidays Association CPF City Parochial Foundation CSCA Civil Service Clerical Association CTAC Creative Tourist Agents Conference HAT History of Advertising Trust HF Holiday Fellowship IATA International Air Transport Association ITA Institute of Travel Agents JWT J Walter Thompson LCC London County Council LMA London Metropolitan Archives NALGO National Association for Local Government Officers NHRU National Home Reading Union NLS National Library of Scotland PCL Polytechnic of Central London PTA Polytechnic Touring Association RGS Royal Geographical Society RSP Regent Street Polytechnic RSPCA Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SAL Staatsarchiv Luzern, Switzerland UWA University of Westminster Archives WTA Workers’ Travel Association YHA Youth Hostels Association YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association YMCI Young Men’s Christian Institute YWCI Young Women’s Christian Institute 6 Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Overview Some events without a central element are described as ‘Hamlet without the prince’; the historiography of modern British travel and tourism might merit the epithet ‘Hamlet without the supporting cast’. While the groundbreaking work of Thomas Cook and the fortunes of the firm he created have attracted much attention, other travel firms have remained obscure. Key corporate players in an era of transition, during which holidays ceased to be a privilege of the few and became a much- cherished part of the lives of the many, have been relatively