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HAM 33
3
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Hammersmith, W.6.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I present herewith my annual report for the year 1941.
As in the past two years this report is represented in
abridged form, and consists for the most part of a series of
tables and statistics dealing with the vital services.
Vital Statistics.—Although the actual number of births
registered during the year was 195 less than in 1940, the
birth rate is slightly higher (16.5 per 1,000) and is the
highest recorded for 15 years.
Comparative figures for London and for England and
Wales are 8.9 and 14.2 respectively.
The death rate for the year was 15.6 per 1,000 as compared
with 17.9 in 1940. This reduction is accounted for
by the fact that there were considerably fewer deaths due
to enemy action during 1941 than in 1940. The death
rate for London as a whole in 1941 was 16.3 and for
England and Wales 12.9.
Both the birth rate and the death rate have been calculated
upon the estimated population supplied by the
Registrar General (84,800). This figure is 38,000 less
than the estimated population of the Borough before the
war, and this fact should be borne in mind when making
comparison with pre-war figures. Much depends upon
the accuracy of the estimated population.
The infantile mortality rate for the year was 41, the
lowest figure yet recorded for Hammersmith, and