Pentland Hick
Encyclopedia
Edwin Pentland Hick, born 21 July 1919, is a British
entrepreneur
, author
, publisher, and veteran of World War II
. Hick is today best known for founding the Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
in North Yorkshire
in the Royal Army Medical Corps
from 1939 to 1945.
, he left the army and returned to his hometown of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where he was given shares in the failing Aberdeen Walk Picture House when his father, a solicitor, was able to arrange for a client to grant a mortgage for it.
He renamed the cinema "The Gaiety" and turned it around financially. He built the business into Pentland Hick Cinemas, a chain of seven cinemas including the Wyke Star.
The Aberdeen Picture House is now a furniture store, with the original name still visible in stone relief along the front.
published two of his one-act plays, The Singing Maid, and The Emperor Godiva.
He was friends with Harry Corbett
and contributed scripting and promotion to Sooty
. He brought Harry and Sooty to the stage in his show FAMILY FUN in Christmas matinees at the Adelphi Theatre
in London
, and holiday season matinees at the Floral Hall in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
district and named it the Yorkshire Zoological Gardens. He originally rented animals until receipts allowed him to buy more. The park housed not only pink flamingos, but the UK's first captive bottlenose dolphins in 1963 and later a whale. One of the dolphins was named Sooty after Corbett's creation.
The park grew to incorporate a fun fair and amusement rides, one of the first zoos in Europe to do so. Hick floated the park on the London Stock Exchange in 1965 as Associated Pleasure Parks, and renamed the park "Yorkshire Zoo". Associated Pleasure Parks was then taken over by a larger company (Scotia Leisure) which shortly afterward collapsed in an embezzlement scandal, leaving Hick broke. The park was eventually to come full circle and is now, at 375 acres (1.5 km²), once again Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
.
Now without capital, Hick tried many activities without notable success, until he went full-time into writing, including theatre and television scriptwriting.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, publisher, and veteran of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Hick is today best known for founding the Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
Flamingo Land is a theme park and resort located in North Yorkshire, England. It attracts about 1.8 million visitors per year. Flamingo Land is also the 12th most visited theme park in Europe.Some of the major attractions at Flamingo Land include:...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
Military service
Hick served with the 8th army as a sergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
from 1939 to 1945.
Pentland Hick Cinemas
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he left the army and returned to his hometown of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where he was given shares in the failing Aberdeen Walk Picture House when his father, a solicitor, was able to arrange for a client to grant a mortgage for it.
He renamed the cinema "The Gaiety" and turned it around financially. He built the business into Pentland Hick Cinemas, a chain of seven cinemas including the Wyke Star.
The Aberdeen Picture House is now a furniture store, with the original name still visible in stone relief along the front.
Playwright/Impressario
During the 1950s, Hick was also writing - Samuel FrenchSamuel French
Samuel French was a U.S. entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays....
published two of his one-act plays, The Singing Maid, and The Emperor Godiva.
He was friends with Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett OBE was a British puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character.He was born in Bradford to coal miner James W...
and contributed scripting and promotion to Sooty
Sooty
Sooty is a British glove puppet bear and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The children's television show which bears his name has continued in various forms since the 1950s and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the...
. He brought Harry and Sooty to the stage in his show FAMILY FUN in Christmas matinees at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and holiday season matinees at the Floral Hall in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
Zoo and Theme Park
In 1959 Hick sold the cinema chain and bought a bankrupt country club on 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) of land in the RyedaleRyedale
Ryedale is a non-metropolitan district of the shire county of North Yorkshire in England. Settlements include Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Malton, Norton-on-Derwent, Pickering, and Terrington.-Derivation of name:...
district and named it the Yorkshire Zoological Gardens. He originally rented animals until receipts allowed him to buy more. The park housed not only pink flamingos, but the UK's first captive bottlenose dolphins in 1963 and later a whale. One of the dolphins was named Sooty after Corbett's creation.
The park grew to incorporate a fun fair and amusement rides, one of the first zoos in Europe to do so. Hick floated the park on the London Stock Exchange in 1965 as Associated Pleasure Parks, and renamed the park "Yorkshire Zoo". Associated Pleasure Parks was then taken over by a larger company (Scotia Leisure) which shortly afterward collapsed in an embezzlement scandal, leaving Hick broke. The park was eventually to come full circle and is now, at 375 acres (1.5 km²), once again Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
Flamingo Land is a theme park and resort located in North Yorkshire, England. It attracts about 1.8 million visitors per year. Flamingo Land is also the 12th most visited theme park in Europe.Some of the major attractions at Flamingo Land include:...
.
Now without capital, Hick tried many activities without notable success, until he went full-time into writing, including theatre and television scriptwriting.