Half a century later, the 84-year-old is the proud founder of one of the biggest pleasure cruiser companies on the Broads, with a fleet of 300 boats. At the firm's height it had 750 boats after taking over a number of other boat yards including ones at Horning and Acle.

The enterprise, now run by Mr Richardson's two sons, Clive, 31, and Paul, 33, also includes a large range of pubs, restaurants, arcades, holiday accommodation, five holiday parks and a bowling alley, on top of the original core of the business at Stalham.

The strategic decision was taken to diversify as more people sought foreign destinations for their holidays due to a strong pound and cheap flights. Employing about 750 people across its various enterprises Richardson's Group last year had a turnover of £21m.

However, despite the dip in revenue of recent years, Paul and Clive say they are now noticing a renaissance in interest in holidaying on the 125 miles of lock free waterways the Broads has to offer.

Clive said: "The Broads are not as profitable as they once were but because of that we broadened out the business. However, we will always have the boatyard at our heart." Paul said: "More people are coming to the Broads again and over the last three years we have been doing more and more short breaks. We now get a lot of parties but it is very mixed.”