Celebrating his twentieth anniversary with the Bata organisation on Wednesday was Foreman J Kuran, who has charge of Depts 403/4.

Leaving school in 1928, he started work as a heel attacher at Zlin on the first of September of that year, and working his way through the saw mill and wooden heel departments, started in the lastmaking department in 1931.

He came to East Tilbury in August, 1939, to act as an instructor to start up and organise a last making section, and became a foreman as soon as this department was established. In 1945, Mr Kuran was appointed manager of the last and heel making departments.

Aged thirty-four, he married on of the W.I.A girls from Bata Farm and lives on the Bata Estate.