Despite the bad rainy weather and nearby severe roadworks and road closures, we again enjoyed a successful Open Day.
It was so good to see many new faces as well as old friends. We were particularly pleased to welcome Stephen Metcalfe, the local MP, who came along to support us and join one of the guided tours. In addition, there were several people who had recently moved into new homes nearby. Also, there were two Bata Technical College ‘boys’ from the 1960s, one travelling all the way from Scotland.
We were very pleased that many people joined us on three organised walks. These included those from the new houses, keen to find out about the area and the history on their doorstep, and also some people from London who were especially interested to see houses inspired by Bauhaus and 1930s modernist Eastern European architectural design influences.
As well as visiting the factory and residential estate, the war memorial park and some other Bata related landmarks, visitors were able to see the lovely refurbished library and listen to a very interesting Bata talk by Mick Pinion.
Our volunteers work so hard to put on these Open Days, so we are grateful for the continuing support from all our visitors.
A date for your diary – our next Open Day will be held on Saturday 25 April 2020 (more details to follow nearer the day). We hope to see you there.
I would just like to say thank you for showing us around my family really enjoyed it and it helped my mum go right back to when she worked there and brought back lots of memories my children found it really interesting thanks again
Really pleased to hear you and your family enjoyed the Open Day. We hope to see you again at a future event or in the East Tilbury Library where you can find out much more about the history of Bata.
Had a really informative, amusing and enjoyable talk and tour given by Mick Pinion. Met some colleagues from my electrical apprentice days and the time went all to quickly. Thanks for making the open day available and all the hard work put in.
Glad you had an enjoyable visit and that you met some of your old colleagues. Look forward to seeing you again.
Thank you for a lovely day and for everyone’s help in assisting me and my mother in our ancestry family search. It was really nice to find out more about my great aunt and uncle (Antonin & Rosina Marcanik). We both found it very interesting and hope to visit again at the next Bata open day.
We’re really glad you enjoyed your visit and that we were able to find some more information about your relatives and their work at Bata.
We look forward to seeing you at a future Open Day. Keep an eye out on the website for more details. Thank you.