Drayton Manor:
George and Vera Bryan's Memories of a Family Fun Park
Publisher: Drayton Manor theme Park
Published in 2006
ISBN-978-0-995279-0-0
Softcover, 100 pages
Reviewed for THM Special Drsyton Manor Park
The Review
The book you are currently reading [THM Special 02 Drayton Manor] is not the first one about Drayton Manor Leisure Park.
Twenty years ago the Bryans together with editor Helen O’Neill and author Fred Bromwich set about writing a 92 page story of the park and intriguingly a chapter on their view of the future as they saw it in 2006. However, just over a decade later the future plans in the book were destroyed by an accident, but let’s go back to the start…
The book was George Bryan’s idea. He and Fred Bromwich spent many hours with George, his wife Vera and Helen the editor researching the material. Fred wrote most of the words and Helen, a long-time contact of George, liaised with him re photos and talked to the printers.
The book explains how and why the Bryans wanted to set up a leisure park and why they picked Tamworth. The book follows much the same path as the book you are reading however in more detail with more pictures hence being four times the length of the book you are reading.
This is very much a personal story rather than a corporate or company story. Actually that should be a family story as the whole family for three generations lived and worked in the park as it grew from empty, though over grown spaces to one of the foremost theme parks in the UK. This becomes obvious as you look through the pictures of the Bryan children becoming adults and their children appearing. The Baton being passed from generation to generation.
The chapter on the future shows the Hotel and the actual building does look like the artists impression, which makes me wonder what the huge covered water park would have looked like! It appears larger, on the plans, than the domes at Eden Park! The future chapter is written by Colin Bryan and is as much about his personal and career path that directed his view for the future of what was a truly family run and family orientated Leisure Park. Spanning three generations of Bryan’s and heading to a forth?
When the book was first published it was also available in local outlets around Tamworth, including WH Smith, but now if you are interested in reading more about Drayton Manor Park, the book currently appears to be easily available 2nd hand. It is highly recommended.
