How an inventor, an entrepreneur, and a pioneering businesswoman helped build the foundations of Sykes Pickavant

The story of Sykes Pickavant begins long before the company name itself existed. It starts in the rapidly changing industrial world of the early twentieth century, when Britain’s motor trade was still in its infancy and ambitious entrepreneurs were helping shape entirely new industries.

At the heart of that story were three remarkable individuals: John William “Jack” Pickavant, Wilfrid Hill, and Millicent Emily Baker.

Each brought something very different to the business that would become J.W. Pickavant & Co. Together, they created a company whose legacy would eventually become part of the Sykes Pickavant story.

Wilfrid Hill – The Industrial Innovator

Of the three founders, Wilfrid Hill was already an established businessman long before J.W. Pickavant & Co was formed.

Born in 1868, Hill trained as a pharmaceutical chemist and, at just 24 years old, acquired Sumner’s Drug and Dispensing Business in Coleshill. From there he developed what became the County Chemical Company, a Birmingham-based business that produced a remarkable range of industrial and automotive products.

Hill was far more than simply a businessman. He was a prolific inventor and patent holder whose work spanned lubricants, vulcanising products, polishing compounds, insulating materials, and repair products for the growing bicycle, aviation, and motor industries.

During the First World War, County Chemical products even extended into wartime manufacturing, including gas masks, protective products, and military materials.

At a time when the motor trade was expanding rapidly, Hill’s technical expertise and manufacturing capability created the perfect foundation for a new kind of business focused on automotive servicing products and tools.

John William “Jack” Pickavant – The Entrepreneur

If Wilfrid Hill represented technical innovation, John William Pickavant brought commercial ambition and personality.

Born in 1882 in Southport, Jack Pickavant initially worked as a boot polish manufacturer before the First World War dramatically changed the course of his life. In 1916 he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, serving in 52 Squadron in France as a mechanic engineer and driver.

This wartime experience likely exposed him to the rapidly advancing world of mechanical engineering and motor transport, industries that would shape the rest of his career.

By the late 1910s, Pickavant had entered the motor trade and was later the founder of the original J.W. Pickavant partnership, which begun in 1918.

Jack Pickavant quickly demonstrated a flair for salesmanship and international business. In January 1921 he travelled to the United States aboard the RMS Celtic alongside Lawrence Cecil Hill, son of Wilfrid Hill. Their destination was the Hassler Shock Absorber Company in Indianapolis, where they appear to have been negotiating distribution rights for the UK market.

The products soon appeared in early J.W. Pickavant catalogues.

This willingness to travel, negotiate internationally, and embrace new automotive technology became a defining characteristic of Pickavant’s career.

His ambitions did not stop in Britain. By the mid-1920s he had relocated to Canada, where he became involved in importing British Morris cars into North America. Research shows he was among the earliest importers of British small cars into Canada, an extraordinary achievement during the early years of international motoring.

Pickavant also was involved in the early success of Brylcreem, the iconic men’s grooming product developed by County Chemicals in Birmingham in 1928. Whether salesman, entrepreneur, or promoter, Jack Pickavant clearly possessed a talent for recognising opportunity and helping products find markets far beyond Birmingham.

Millicent Emily Baker – The Organising Force

Perhaps the most overlooked figure in the early history of J.W. Pickavant & Co is Millicent “Millie” Emily Baker.

Born in Aston, Birmingham in 1882, Millie Baker came from a modest working-class background. Yet by 1911 she was already listed in census records as a “Clerk & Manageress” for a chemical company, an unusually senior role for a woman at that time.

Significantly, the address where she lived was only a short distance from Bradford Street, where Wilfrid Hill’s County Chemical Company operated. It seems highly likely that Hill introduced Baker to Jack Pickavant as the original partnership began to take shape.

When J.W. Pickavant & Co was established, Millie Baker joined the partnership alongside Wilfrid Hill and Jack Pickavant. The combination proved highly effective:

• Hill provided technical expertise and manufacturing knowledge
• Pickavant handled salesmanship and commercial expansion
• Baker brought administration, bookkeeping, and organisational discipline

In June 1921, J.W. Pickavant & Co Ltd was formally incorporated with a capital of £10,000. Company records listed Millicent E. Baker as one of the directors alongside J.W. Pickavant and members of the Mindelsohn family, who provided financial backing for the expanding business.

Millie Baker continued as Director and Company Secretary for nearly three decades, retiring in 1949.

Her contribution deserves particular recognition not only because of her long service, but because she occupied a senior leadership role in the motor and engineering industries at a time when women had only recently gained the right to vote in general elections.

In many ways, Millicent Baker (and her male colleagues) were ahead of their time.

The Formation of J.W. Pickavant & Co

By 1921 the partnership had evolved into a formal limited company operating from Birmingham.

The business initially focused on automotive servicing products and manufacturers’ agency work connected to the rapidly growing motor trade. Early catalogues featured shock absorbers, polishing compounds, and automotive maintenance products.

The company’s “Quikko Works” branding soon appeared across catalogues and products, while the Pickavant name gradually became associated with specialised automotive service tools.

Among the earliest known products were valve grinding and valve lapping tools used in conjunction with abrasive pastes produced by County Chemicals under the “Chemico” brand.

This relationship between chemical products and specialist servicing tools reflected the unique combination of expertise within the founding partnership itself.

The company stood at the crossroads of several rapidly expanding industries:

• automotive engineering
• industrial chemicals
• vehicle servicing
• international trade

It was exactly the right business at exactly the right moment in industrial history.

A Legacy That Endures

The later decades would see enormous changes in the automotive industry, including economic depression, world war, technological advancement, and the eventual evolution of the Pickavant (and Sykes) business into the modern Sykes Pickavant organisation.

Yet the foundations laid during those early years remained remarkably consistent:

• innovation
• specialist engineering
• practical workshop solutions
• and entrepreneurial thinking

The personalities behind the company also left their mark.

Wilfrid Hill embodied technical ingenuity and industrial invention. Jack Pickavant brought ambition, mobility, and commercial energy. Millicent Baker provided stability, administration, and leadership behind the scenes.

Together, they built far more than a small Birmingham motor trade business.

They helped create part of the engineering heritage that still underpins Sykes Pickavant today.