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the Report for 1947 and is briefly that births registered in the years in question
included those in respect of non-civilians and the rates would have been inflated if
fathers in the Forces had been excluded from the calculations. Since 1950 home population
has been used as a divisor and the rates shown since that year should be reduced
by 0.1 for a strict comparison with earlier years when total population was used.
LIVE BIRTH RATE IN LONDON (A.C.) 1934-1954
The number of marriages registered in London in 1954, was 32,876 or 19.8 persons Marriages
married per 1,000 of the total population—the corresponding rates for 1953 and 1952
were 19.7 and 19.9 respectively.
There were 3,643 illegitimate live births (7.2 per cent, of the total live births). The Illegitimacy
percentages in recent years were :
Year London A.C. England and Wales Year London A.C. England and Wales
1938-42 6.6 4.7 1949 6.9 5.1
1943 8.2 6.3 1950 7.0 5.1
1944 9.3 7.2 1951 6.9 4.7
1945 11.4 9.4 1952 6.9 4.8
1946 8.0 6.7 1953 7.1 4.7
1947 6.7 5.3 1954 7.2 4.7
1948 7.0 5.4
It will be seen that, after a fall from a peak in 1945, illegitimate births in London have,
since 1948, stabilised at about 7 per cent, of total live births while for the country as a
whole they have also stabilised but at a lower percentage. Such evidence as is available
suggests that the true illegitimate fertility rate in London is lower than would appear
from the crude figures because of the understandable wish of the unmarried mother to
bear her child in the anonymity of a large city and to take advantage of the facilities
available therein. Such births are however allocated to London and consequently
increase both its illegitimate and total fertility rates.
Deaths under one year among illegitimate infants amounted to 30 per 1,000 illegitimate
births compared with a rate of 20 for legitimate births. The corresponding rates
for 1953 were 36 and 23 respectively. A detailed comparison of deaths in both groups
is given in Table 6 (page 222).
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