In the days when the financial depression swept across England and Tilbury was a distressed area, conditions were worse, far worse, in Scotland and many Scots, as they had been doing for years, trekked away from their homeland and came south because things could not be any worse in England and they might be better. Among those who came south about that time was Winston (Jock) Forbes (left) with his young wife and in in 1936 he joined the small printing department of British Bata at East Tilbury, after working for about eighteen months in London and St Helier, in the Channel Islands.

Now Jock and two of his three sons, are British Bata employees at East Tilbury and Mrs Forbes is equally as well known among the residents of Bata Estate, while Gordon, still at school looks forward to the time when he will join his father and brothers in the factory.
Father Forbes was brought up to the printing trade and followed his father as an operator of a typesetting machine. He joined British Bata as an Intertype operator. At first he found things a bit strange for he had been used to the varied work of a newspaper office and in those days there was little else to set but type for shop statements, reglets and other internal stationery. But with the adaptability of the Scot he soon settled down, became a resident of Bata Estate, and was elected to the Management Advisory committee for the subsidiary group.
In those early days the printing department was situated in what is now the retail department’s training school and the whole department was “schooner rigged” with very little equipment and capable of turning out only the most elementary work.
“After a while,” said Jock to Bata Record, “the single storey building in which the department is now situated was built mainly to house the growing engineering department as as there was room for the printers we moved in there and more equipment was installed and the department really began to grow.”
Socially Jock became well known. He was always one of the leaders in the functions of the Recreation Club and a popular figure on any of the outings he attended.
But family ties began to clip his wings a bit for he now had two sons, Adrian and John, and social life began to take a bit of a background. In 1939 Gordon arrived to complete the trio.
In 1941 the call up claimed Jock and he went away to serve with the Royal Air Force Regt. for four and a half years, in England, Wales and finally in Germany, returning to East Tilbury at the end of 1945.
Back at work once more, Jock found the printing department had grown considerably while he had been away and was doing work it never dreamed of in pre-war days.

Then in 1948, Adrian Forbes (right), the elder of the two boys joined the Company and became an apprentice engineer. A fortnight ago he completed his indentures with the company’s engineering department and is now a full-blown member of the department, a good steady worker with a number of outside interests which usefully fill up his leisure hours.
At one time he had a craze for yachts and boats and even took his holiday the hard way cruising round the east coast and camping out on the banks of the rivers and creeks at night. Now he has sold his boat and turned his attention to a motor car and romance.
John (below), in the export department, has decided that he prefers life in an office and hopes that one day he may have an executive position with the Company. He is also the sporting member of the family, he plays

football, cricket, tennis, badminton and table tennis and, like most Scots, also has a leaning towards the golf which he expects to take up when he is older.
He still plays some games for the Hassenbrook School Club at Stanford-le-Hope and at East Tilbury he is a member of the table tennis and tennis section of Bata Sports and Social Club.
Jock and Mrs Forbes are keen members of the Bata Old Time Dance Club, where Jock is a member of the committee.
“The printing department has grown very considerably since 1936,” said Jock, “and is now twice as big as it was both in personnel and equipment. I have never regretted coming to East Tilbury and, while two of my sons have broken away from the printing trade, which was almost a tradition with the Forbes family back home, I am glad to see them both settled in good jobs at East Tilbury.”