London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Wandsworth 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
44 Report of the Medical Officer of Health for 1938.
Inquests.
Inquests were held on 326 persons dying in the Borough
and on 200 Borough residents who died outside the Borough.
The next Table shows the results of the findings of these inquests.
TABLE XVII.
| Inquests. | Clapham. | Putney. | Balham. | Streatham. | Tooting. | Wandsworth. | Whole Borough. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths from Natural | |||||||
| Causes | 52 | 60 | 41 | 44 | 50 | 75 | 322 |
| Accidental:— | |||||||
| Falls | 8 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 57 |
| Knocked down by motor vehicles | 4 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 37 |
| Falls from a height | 1 | 1 | 2 | _ | — | 1 | 5 |
| Thrown from bicycles | 1 | — | 1 | _ | __ | 1 | 3 |
| Burns and scalds | _ | 1 | _ | 1 | _ | 1 | 3 |
| Death under anaesthetic | _ | 2 | _ | _ | 1 | _ | 3 |
| Other | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | _ | 3 | 11 |
| Suicidal:— | |||||||
| Poisoning by:— | |||||||
| Coal Gas | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 23 |
| Lysol | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Hydrocyanic acid | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 2 |
| Potassium cyanide | — | — | — | 1 | _ | _ | 1 |
| J eyes' Fluid | — | — | — | 1 | — | _ | 1 |
| Strychnine | — | — | — | 1 | — | _ | 1 |
| Hanging | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 2 | 9 |
| Drowning | 1 | 2 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Fall from a height | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 5 |
| Fall from a train | 1 | _ | 1 | _ | — | — | 2 |
| Cut throat | _ | 1 | _ | 1 | _ | _ | 2 |
| Strangulation | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| Run over by train | _ | 1 | — | _ | __ | _ | 1 |
| Result of war wounds | _ | 16 | _ | _ | _ | _ | 16 |
| Open Verdict:— | |||||||
| Found drowned | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Execution | 3 | 3 | |||||
| Murder | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| Totals | 78 | 112 | 80 | 73 | 68 | 115 | 526 |