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efforts by the police to trace his wife, from whom he had been living
apart and who, it was believed, lived at Southend-on-Sea. The wife,
who subsequently heard of her husband's death,afterwards contacted
this department and, after the Council's expenses had been met, a
small amount of cash and certain effects, the property of her late
husband, were passed to her.
During the year, one female and three male bodies were removed
to the mortuary after recovery from the River Thames, all of them
being identified by relatives or friends who made the funeral arrangements.
The Council's removal charges were written off in one case
to prevent financial hardship to the widowed sister of the deceased,
and in another to avoid additional expense to the deceased's friends
who, in the absence of known relatives, undertook the funeral
arrangements.
PUBLIC HEALTH (LONDON) ACT 1936, SECTION 122
Under the provisions of this section, the department removes
and cleanses effects of persons where the Medical Officer considers
that such action is necessary to prevent the spread of infection.
During the year, visits were made to the homes of 31 old people
who were senile, seriously ill or incontinent. There were quantities
of soiled personal clothing and bedding in each case and it was
necessary for these articles to be regularly collected for cleansing in
the Disinfecting Station and returned to the owners.