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The population of the borough rose to 50,610 as compared with
49,440 in 1951, while there was a slight decrease in the number of
births allocated to Stoke Newington due to the fall in the birth
rate from 17.67 to 16.20.
During the year one case of Diphtheria occurred in the Borough
in a woman, aged 24. No case occurred in children, but this
emphasises the need for the continuation of the campaign of
Diphtheria Immunisation, rather than an indication for the
cessation of immunisation.
A new record was established with the low rate of 13.41 in
respect of deaths of children under one year of age and compares
very favourably with the figure of 29.7 for 1951 and with the figure
of 23.8 for 1952 for the Administrative County of London. The
actual number of infant deaths was 11 in 1952 as compared with
26 in 1951, and shows a marked decrease. The causes of death
were Meningococcal infections 1, Congenital Malformations 2,
and other defined and ill defined diseases 8.
The number of deaths from Motor Vehicle Accidents in 1952
was 2 as compared with the figure of 7 for 1951. Of the two
accidents in 1952, one involved a girl between the ages of 5 and 15
and the other a woman between the ages of 45 and 65. This does
show that the advice being given in connection with Accident
Prevention is bearing fruit, and it is very heartening that there were
no very young children involved in fatal accidents.
Deaths due to other accidents totalled nine and involved four
males and five females. The deaths of the males and four of the
females were caused by shock and injuries sustained after falls,
while the remaining female was aged 13 and died from shock of inhalation
of water on diving into a swimming pool.
At the latter period of the year, London experienced a series of
severe fogs, and these caused a considerable increase in the number
of deaths. In the Administrative County of London, the increase
of deaths during the week ending 13th December (the worst period
of the fog), was 1,539 over the figures for the previous week. The
number of deaths of Stoke Newington residents for the same period
was 30 as compared with 15 for the corresponding period in 1951.
The investigation into atmospheric pollution has continued
throughout the year and a full set of readings has been obtained.
The results are contained in the report, together with four
explanatory graphs on the subject.
I would emphasise that although atmospheric pollution is a
national problem, much of which is preventable, a considerable
advance can be made in this Borough by dealing with the local
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