London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Coulsdon and Purley 1945
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
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Apart from emphasising the well-recognised tendency for this disease
to increase with advancing years, there is little which can be deduced
from such relatively small figures nor from comparison with similar
tables for each of the war years. There are, however, two outstanding
points which coincide with national trends, viz., the abnormally large
proportion of cases of cancer of the lung, particularly in men, this being
a form of the disease which is steadily increasing, and the number of
deaths in young women as a result of cancer of the breast. Although
cancer of the breast is relatively accessible from the point of view of
diagnosis and treatment, deaths from this cause in women from 25 to
55 years of age still tend to increase, and emphasise how important it is
for all suspicious lumps to be examined by a doctor as soon as they are
noticed.
It will be seen by reference to the table giving the death rates during the war years that there were three years in which the death rate from violence was abnormally high, viz., 1940, to a lesser degree 1941, and, highest of all, 1944. These years, of course, correspond with the peak periods of enemy air attack, to which the increases are definitely attributable and the results of which are given in the following table:—
| 1939. | 1940. | 1941. | 1942. | 1943. | 1944. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of residents killed | Nil | 36 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 50 |
| Number of persons | ||||||
| killed in the District | Nil | 38 | 13 | Nil | Nil | 47 |
| Number recorded as injured in the District: | ||||||
| (a) Slightly | Nil | 83 | 9 | Nil | 3 | 111 |
| (b) Seriously | Nil | 141 | 43 | Nil | 6 | 379 |
The most deadly form of attack as far as this District was concerned
was obviously the flying bombs, of which at least 70 fell in or near
the boundaries of the District, causing 30 deaths and at least 368
injured. The one rocket which fell in the District caused 2 deaths and
8 injured, while the majority of the remaining 66 deaths were caused
by high explosive bombs, of which more than 2,000 fell in the District.
A few deaths were caused by anti-aircraft fire, explosive incendiaries,
etc.
Apart from enemy action in 1940-41 and 1944 the death rate from
violence was less than in pre-war years, the number of deaths from road
accidents showing a welcome reduction after 1939, when 8 were killed,
the number of deaths from this cause being 4 in 1940, 4, 2, 4, 4 in the
following years and 3 in 1945 (1 pedestrian and 2 cyclists).
The deaths from suicide increased at first, being 14 in 1939, 11 in
1940 and 17 in 1941, but decreased later, being 10, 9, 4 and 6 in 1945.
TUBERCULOSIS AND PNEUMONIA.
Deaths from tuberculosis and pneumonia are referred to in later
sections of this Report.
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