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THE HEALTH OF BARKING
So often in infant welfare clinics it is thrust home that a baby is not thriving
because the young mother, educated in child care, is dominated by an old-fashioned
mother-in-law, or that the baby is picked up each time it cries, although this is very
undesirable, because the others sharing the house object to the noise. On top of
this, there is the difficulty of two women sharing a kitchen; a feat impossible without
friction in all but the rarest cases.
Official standards of overcrowding are measured in terms of floor area per
person and in terms of the number of rooms in the house relative to the number of
occupants and yet, apart from extreme cases, the attainment of a standard of one
family to one house or flat would give more happiness and good health to the
community than the relief of overcrowding on any standard of floor area or of
number of rooms.
SQUATTERS.
Squatting, which became a national practice, took place in Barking during the
months of July and August, when 3 former gunsite camps and 2 hutted camps
belonging to the Ministry of Works were occupied. The total number of families
was 98, consisting of 207 adults and 99 children. Of the total families, 35 had
applications lodged with this authority for rehousing and 45 were not residents of
the Borough.
The camps at Barking Park and Parsloes Park and the hutments of the Ministry
of Works were later in the year taken over and are being managed by the Corporation
for the Ministry of Health.
It was regarded as essential that families should be provided with all the
facilities which could be reasonably supplied, because it was anticipated that the
occupation would be for more than 2 years. Each family now has gas cooking
facilities, a washing copper, sink and water supply, with a small portable hard fuel
stove for heating purposes. In addition, electric lighting is installed. The
campers use in common the sanitary conveniences left by the troops, but it is pleasing
to report that the arrangements made for the joint use of these conveniences, as also
the cleansing of footpaths and open spaces in the camps, has proceeded on an
organised basis without any serious trouble.
The Liaison Officers in the employ of the Council report upon conditions
existing in the camps and help camp organisation.
The camp at Creekmouth which was not taken over by the Corporation is
situated near the River Thames and 3 miles from the nearest occupied dwelling.
It is without main drainage but has water supply and electricity service. There
are now 10 families in residence who have been advised that the camp is not
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