Hilda May Harris was born at Undy on 28 May 1890. She was the daughter of Rosanna Hammal Harris, who is sometimes recorded as Rosa Harris. During Hilda’s childhood, her mother married George Henry Hickman, a native of the Wirral, at Newport in 1897. Following the marriage, Hilda became part of the Hickman household and is believed to have been adopted by George Henry Hickman. The family connection remained strong enough that Hilda’s younger half-sister, Susannah Maud Hickman, was living with Hilda and her husband at Cwm Soar Farm in 1911.
On 23 November 1909, Hilda married Frederick Henry Warder at Undy Parish Church. Frederick was a farmer and grazier from Penhow and shortly after their marriage the couple moved to Cwm Soar Farm, Glascoed. Their time in Glascoed appears to have been relatively brief, but it was here that their first child, Simeon Henry Harris Warder, was born in 1910.
The 1911 census records Frederick and Hilda living at Cwm Soar Farm. Frederick was then working as a farmer and grazier on his own account, while Hilda was twenty-one years old and had been married for just over a year. The census also records that they had one child, all of whom were still living. Living with them was Hilda’s younger sister, Susannah Maud Hickman, who was attending school.
After leaving Glascoed, the family returned to Undy. Their second child, Robert William Warder, was born at Mill Common Farm on 29 August 1913. Tragically, Robert survived for only a few months and died on 23 February 1914. By the time their daughter Matilda Eugenie Warder was born on 28 February 1916, the family had moved to The Moorlands, Undy.
The Moorlands became closely associated with Hilda and her family. It was also the place where her mother, Rosanna, died. Whether Hilda and Frederick inherited the property, moved there with the agreement of relatives, or joined members of the extended family is not presently known. Whatever the circumstances, The Moorlands remained the family home for many years and became the place most closely associated with Hilda’s later life.
At some point after leaving Glascoed, Frederick’s occupation changed from farming to coal mining. This reflects the changing economic circumstances faced by many Monmouthshire families in the early twentieth century, as employment opportunities increasingly shifted from agriculture to industry.
Hilda and Frederick had four children in total: Simeon Henry Harris Warder, Robert William Warder, Matilda Eugenie Warder and Myra Rosalind Warder. Through them, the Warder family continued into subsequent generations, and much of the information about Hilda’s life has been preserved thanks to the memories and research of her descendants.
Frederick died at The Moorlands on 30 March 1946. Hilda outlived her husband by more than thirty years, remaining a well-known figure in the area. She died on 6 November 1980 at Crick, near Caldicot, having reached the age of ninety.
Many thanks to a grandson of Hilda Warder for generously sharing much of the family information used in this biography.
