While still resident in England he had received a scholarship to attend Christ's Hospital School in Horsham, Sussex.

While living in Montreal he regularly sketched in the old port area of the city attracted by the historic buildings and streetscapes.

In 1966 Batten was commissioned by Canadian Industries Limited to produce a tourists' map of that historic area in readiness for the 1967 World's Fair (Expo '67).

Batten's rendering of the Gardiner Museum was featured in the Art Gallery of Ontario's 2006 show on new culture related structures in Toronto.

[8] He was one of twenty five Canadian artists[9] who as part of 2006's Arctic Quest traversed the North West Passage in celebration of the centennial of Roald Amundsen's historic expedition.