View report page

'2
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Hammersmith, W.6.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith.
Ladies and Gentlemen,—In accordance with the recommendations
of the Ministry of Health, the Animal Report
upon the Health of the Borough for the year 1940 is
presented in an abridged form, as it was for the year
1939. It consists largely of a series of tables and statistics
dealing with the vital services.
Vital Statistics.—The birth rate (1G.3 per 1,000) is the
Highest recorded for the past 14 years, and is higher than
the rate for London (13.7) and for England and Wales
(14.6).
On the estimated population, i.e., 98,320, the corrected
number of deaths of residents was equal to an annual rate
of 17.9 per 1,000. An adjusting factor has been supplied
by the Registrar-General, and this, when applied to the
Hammersmith death rate gives a rate of 18.2 per 1,000
which is considerably higher than for past years, and is
also higher than for London as a whole (17.8) and for
England and Wales (14.3). The reason for the increase
over previous years is the inclusion in the figure of deaths
through enemy action.
Both the birth rate and the death rate are based upon
the Registrar-General's estimate of the population, namely,
98,320. This represents a reduction on the figure for the
previous year of 24,480. The large scale evacuation of the
child population and the absence from home of men and
women serving with H.M. Forces are the main factors
accounting for the decrease, supplemented by a movement
of persons to areas less vulnerable than Hammersmith.
The evacuation of children and the call-up for military
service of a large number of men has caused a relative