London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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City of London 1930

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]

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33
CREMATIONS.
The following table shows the number of cremations which have taken place in the
several crematoria in Great Britain since the practice was permitted by law in 1885.
Although a steady rate of progress is maintained, one would prefer to see cremations
adopted on the more general scale which exists in some of the Continental countries. In
Germany, for instance, 53,979 cremations took place during 1930, and it will be seen that
this figure is actually more than a thousand in excess of the number cremated in Great
Britain in 45 years. This method of disposal is largely in use in Czecho.Slovakia, Scandinavia
and Switzerland, and one feels that it is only a matter of time before education will overcome
the sentiment, natural prejudice and tradition, which are responsible for the difficulties
experienced in impressing upon the public the advantages of cremation.

CREMATIONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 46 Years—1885-1930.

YEAR.Woking.*Manchester.Glasgow.Liverpool.Hull.DarlingtonLeicester.Golder's Green.Birmingham.Leeds.City of London.Sheffield.Bradford.W. Norwood.Hendon Park.Pontypridd.Bristol.Ipswich.Edinburgh.Brighton. (Opened 13/3/30).Guernsey. (Opened 8/11/29).No. of Cremations each year
18853................................................................................3
188610................................................................................10
188713................................................................................13
188828................................................................................28
188946................................................................................46
189054................................................................................54
189199................................................................................99
18921043............................................................................107
189310130............................................................................131
189412547............................................................................172
1895150581........................................................................209
189613752102....................................................................201
1897173511610....................................................................250
1898240621227....................................................................341
1899240881623....................................................................367
1900301832040....................................................................444
1901273961840171............................................................445
190227581205413215....................................................451
190314392243518151581................................................477
1904138981940207822019................................................569
190595973535154162522216971................................604
1906140904446171312298251523614................................743
1907108983034298122903316181813................................707
1908119116283237614364182419126................................795
19091051063046159194213019241813................................855
1910106114283721916415381222814................................840
191111412439502512135424417201013................................1,023
19121251494452271514591402432129................................1,134
191312817249662311116025916211515................................1,188
1914124184574816117†6715328422018................................1,279
19151531656354341622730452045211230............................1,410
19161251797158251023633632243141189............................1,366
191712917867622415347194917682510118............................1,515
191814219774694317428206434705020153............................1,795
191918123584894626369197630684131169............................2,031
192014920380693018328517226583220156............................1,796
192115922887754320368937831572924162............................1,922
1922193189757445172393998317038251866........................2,009
1923170227906245213692075276937231786........................1,986
192423525182744728401,114974768322424074....................2,390
1925271287116754132571,21412648664832266714....................2,700
192630530398965533701,27012840844332299813....................2,877
19273203571291017038681,459150599557502791122....................3,265
19283443671411037239611,4831576010351453061120712............3,436
192942644318510397551241,7972056699814741014281163720........4,353
193044644212116084521191,7871807311259493901240143551257864,533
Totals7,5656,3422,0882,0411,095549968223772,0458181,4067845693,432841413309414578652957

* " Viscount Cross in the year 1879 forbade the practice of cremation there (Woking) under the threat of passing an Act to make it
"illegal .... But in 1884 appeared the well known judgment of Mr. Justice Stephen, which, in the case of a child's body having been
'burned by its father contrary to the order of the coroner, determined cremation to be a legal act, provided no nuisance be caused there.
"by to others."—Extract from speech made by the late Sir Henry Thompson at the opening of Golder's Green Crematorium, 22nd Nov.
" ember, 1902. Vide" Transactions of Cremation Society of England, 1903." p. 31.
t Closed for reconstruction from August, 1913, to July, 1914.