Page 46 - L&T Millicent Phillips

Redditch Heritage Millicent Phillips

-2003 Redditch Advertiser Archive Wednesday 10th December

Homecoming queen is back

They say home is where the heart is and for one former Carnival Queen, it's always
been Redditch.

Millicent Shillaber has spent a lifetime in showbusiness mixing with the great and the
good but now, aged 79, she has returned to her roots.

Millicent was Redditch Carnival Queen in 1944 having been born and bred in the town
and attending St Stephen's First School and later Miss Gross' Private School.

When she was 10, her beautiful singing voice was recognised by the renowned Mavis
Bennett and under her guidance, she moved to London where she joined Bandwagon,
a talent show akin to today's Pop Idol, where she was voted by the public as the
winner.

She toured in many of impresario Jack Hilton's shows and featured on hundreds of
radio broadcasts, later becoming a personal friend of Prince Charles.

After retiring, she lived in Harrow, Middlesex, but always regarded Redditch as her
home.

Now she has moved into a new Dodd Homes apartment at the Aspirations
development in Birchfield Road.

She said she was delighted to be back as she still has many friends in Redditch and
was enjoying her new home.

Dodd Homes sales manager Susan Hamer welcomed Millicent to her new home and
said: "It's been a delight and a privilege to find a new home for such a lovely lady and
on behalf of Dodd Homes, I wish her all the happiness in the world in her new home."

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