“I certainly advised my son and daughter to apply to British Bata when they left school and were ready for work, because I think the prospects for young people here are definitely good.”
Philip Smith (left), who does last-turning in Dept 404, told this to Bata Record. He is one of another happy Bata family of four - his wife, Doris, who formerly worked in the leather factory is on the counter at the snack bar every evening.
His son Brian is an ambitious young man on the retail side, and is just finishing a course in the training school. His daughter, Margaret, is in the retail department.

“I started at East Tilbury in 1942, after serving for three years in the Territorials in various parts of Europe,” said Philip, “edge trimming Army boots in the old Dept 442. I was responsible for the finishing of hundreds of pairs of these, and, when these boots were no longer made, I did similar work for women’s court shoes. I was on finishing for ten years, and thoroughly enjoyed the work.
“I have been on last turning in Dept 404 for the past three years, and am keen on this job, as well. I have handled several styles of shoes made in the leather factory, and can do more than one operation. I am pleased to be a member of a shoemaking team - for that is what working for British Bata means. Each of us has a job to do, and each should do it to the best of his or here ability, realising that over-all efficiency in producing a pair of shoes relies on co-operative efficiency of men and women at the various stages of production. This spirit is always present in the leather factory.”
Philip added that he applied for work at British Bata soon after the factory was opened, but was told that there was no opening for which he was quite suitable then. “I was disappointed,” he said, “but found other work. One day after I was discharged from the ARmy on medical grounds, I was taking a cycle ride in the East Tilbury district, and still thinking I would like to work for British Bata, I applied for a job, and was engaged.
“I have been living on Bata Estate for 11 years, and myself, wife and family are very happy there.”
Several Bata workers know Philip as a breeder of budgerigars, of which he has between 50 and 60, of all varieties, including the comparatively rare all-white and all-yellow birds. “They are of genuine talking strain,” he explained, “and can be trained to talk in three months.”

He has won prizes at various shows for his budgerigars, of which he has handled hundreds since he first became interested in birds when he was very young. He breeds some of them for friends, and several fellow-workers in the factory have birds bred by him.
His other hobby is gardening.
Doris (left) , his wife, works in the snack bar every evening, dealing expeditiously with the varied calls made for service at the counter. Cheerful and industrious she is pleased to work for the same Company as her husband and family - and Philip is pleased tot.
Before going to the snack bar, Doris worked for three years folding and cementing californias in the leather factory.
Brian Smith (below) is a hard-working and ambitious lad who intends to make a career in the retail realm of British Bata.

Starting in the supply department, where he went straight from Hassenbrook school at Stanford le Hope, and where he helped to despatch shoes to shop, he showed a keen interest in the system and subsequently was transferred to East Tilbury shop as a junior salesman. He showed an unflagging eagerness to learn, and was given the opportunity to prove adaptability and mobility by assisting on Saturday morning at various other shops, including Southend, Grays, Hounslow and Baker’s Arms.
“I looked forward to going to other shops, as much as I enjoyed my work n the East Tilbury shop,” said Brian. “The visits helped me to broaden my outlook, study the requirements and best selling lines of different district, and generally make stronger by resolve to learn as much as possible about selling.
“After the managers’ training course I am just finishing, I may go back to supply or to a shop. In a year’s time I am due for my national service.

When I come back from that, I expect I shall have a refresher course before being given an appointment.”
Chief Supplier Alan Johnson said that, because of Brian’s keen interest in his work, it had been decided to give him experience of all aspects of retail work - supply, advertising, selling and sales distribution, with a view to determining which branch of the work best suited his abilities.
Retail Training Manager David Rowlands described Brian as a keen and eager student.
“I sometimes study at home, as I am keen to get on,” he told Bata Record, “and I am a staff sergeant in the 1st East Tilbury Boys’ Brigade. I go to dances or the cinema sometimes, bud do not have much time for ordinary hobbies.”

Margaret Smith, like her brother, came straight from Hassenbrook School, and again, like him, mainly because her father warmly recommended British Bata as offering good opportunities for keen, young people. She works in that section of the retail department in which nearly all her companions went to the same school, and are about the same age, and this fact, combined with her natural aptitude for friendliness, made her feel comfortable from the start.
“My work - dealing with statistics on adding-up machines - is interesting,” she said, “and I am one of a happy little company of girls. What do I do when I do not work? Dance, mostly.”

Margaret will be remembered as the girl who won prizes at two successive Southend carnivals - a suit of furniture last year, and a television set this year. She always pays at least one visit to Southend carnival. Now she is wondering if she will win again next year, and if so, what her prize will be.