Export Manager V Hassala celebrated his fiftieth birthday on Monday, and, on behalf of all Bata workers and his many friends, Bata Record extends to him congratulations and best wishes for the future.
Mr Hassala is one of the select band of Batamen who are proud possessors of one of the long service gold watches, for which he qualified two years ago.
He came to British Bata 17 years ago and joined the retail department after having been with the French Bata organisation for a number of years. Previously he was a member of the Bata organisation in Zlin.
After several years as a district inspector, mainly in the north of England, Mr Hassala came to East Tilbury in 1946 to take over the management of the export and wholesale departments.

Under his management the department has grown considerably and has reached astronomical figures for the export of all types of British Bata footwear to practically every part of the world, so that British Bata has remained the largest exporter of footwear from Great Britain.
A resident of the Bata Estate, Mr Hassala is a married man with one daughter.
On Monday he received a presentation from Mr J Tusa, the managing director, and another from Assistant General Manager E Rumsey on behalf of his colleagues.

Export-Manager V Hassala, who left East Tilbury on Thursday for a nine weeks’ tour to explore the whole of the export market to the West Indies, arrived safely in Trinidad on Saturday having flown the whole way.

He started work at once and ruing the time he is in the West Indies will visit all the islands on which the British Bata Shoe Company has established its retail shops. His aim is to expand as much as possible the Company’s export trade to that part of the world.

In the picture above he is seen with members of the Company’s executive and Mr H Gough and Mr V Mizia, his two assistants in the export department, as he was about to leave for the aerodrome. Mr J Tusa, the managing director, is wishing him the best of luck and plenty of orders for British Bata Shoes.