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CAM 19
Camberwell
Report of the medical Officer of Health.
To The Worshipful the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Camberwell.
Gentlemen,
At the middle of 1914, the latest date at which an estimate can
be made with any hope of accuracy, the population of London was
reckoned to be 4,516,612. An estimate now is more than usually
doubtful on account of the war, which has led to so great a moving
hither and thither of the people of London, in common with that of
the whole country. One has only to use one's eyes in the streets
to see the change in numbers and age distribution of the population,
a change that must of necessity be reflected in its vital statistics.
These in years removed from the close neighbourhood of the taking
of the census have always suffered from an element of unreliability,
and now will have to be viewed with an even more critical eye.
The births actually registered in London were 103,646, compared
with 111,265 in 1913. But this number must be corrected by the
inclusion of the births of children of ordinary London residents who
were not born within its boundaries, and by the exclusion of those
who were the children of temporary inhabitants of the County.
When this has been carried out the number used in the calculation
of the rate is 101,649, a decrease from 1914 of 8,018.
There were 72,421 registrations of deaths, but these have again
to be corrected in a similar manner to the births; that is by the
inclusion of persons who, although having a permanent home in
London, died outside its boundaries, while those who were only
temporary residents at the time of their deaths will have to be
excluded. The number of registrations remaining after this has
been done was 72,399 for the 52 weeks of 1915, compared with
64,994 for the same number of weeks of 1914.
The difficulty of getting at even a fairly correct population is
accentuated when one comes to a lesser district such as Camberwell,
for the elements of error which are likely to balance themselves in
the larger number exert a disproportionate influence when they
are applied to the smaller. Right from the beginning of the war
Camberwell has not failed in giving up its men of a fighting age to
the Navy and Army, and one has only to look about in the main
streets to note the absence, unfortunately in some cases permanent,
of men of military age. That this will exercise a disturbing influence
both on the number and age distribution of the Borough must
be obvious to all.
The changes in the trade and employment conditions have been
the same in this Borough as elsewhere—new industries have sprung