[1] He was born in Highams Park, the son of Frederick William Pontin, an East End cabinet maker,[1] and Elizabeth Marian Tilyard, and attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow but left without passing any examinations.
In 1946, he formed a syndicate to buy an old disused camp at Brean Sands near Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset which was the beginnings of the company known as Pontins.
He gradually expanded his business to encompass thirty sites[3] including the popular Southport and Prestatyn resorts.
In 1960, he bought Farringford House on the Isle of Wight, the former home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson which had been turned into a hotel.
[2] In 1978, Pontins and Pontinental were sold to Coral for £56 million and he remained a director for two years, and continued to run hotels, including Farringford.