Page 9 - Local Heroes - Silk

Local Heroes Redditch Heritage

Richard Turner Writes…….

Millie Hicks

My Gran loved to talk about life in Redditch and the family history but it was not until a
number of years after the death of my Grandad that one Remembrance Sunday she
gave me a tin to open. Inside were a number of documents, cards and letters which she
had not talked to anyone about for nearly seventy years. Like many people of her
generation she had kept her war memories private.

Millie Hicks grew up in Enfield Road before moving to
266, Mount Pleasant. She had a couple of office jobs
before moving to the offices at the Terry factory.

At some point she met and started going out with
Bernard Silk who was the son of Henry Silk, a coal
merchant who in 1911 lived at 98, Oakley Road but
later moved into 22, Worcester Road. Bernard worked
as a clerk, possibly for his father.

In the 1911 census it appears he was one of four
children. An Emma Silk, aged 87 lived at 11, Worcester
Road and I think this May have been his Great Gran.

There relation-
ship grew
stronger and
they were on the
point of getting
engaged Bernard used to collect Millie in a pony
and trap and when she went to his house the
servant would always address her as Miss Mildred.

Inevitably the war must have weighed heavily on
all their minds and on the 29th June 1915 Bernard
went into Birmingham to enlist in the 14th Battal-
lion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. After
training the unit left for France in November 1915.
Bernard continued to write to MIllie sending local-
ly made lace cards and the official field post cards.

On the 1st July 1916 the battle of the Somme
started. This must have been dreadful for people
back home as the news of casualties was reported
in the Redditch Indicator. How much worse can it
have been for the troops waiting to go into the
front line?

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