London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Bexley 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bexley]
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SECTION A.—STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE BOROUGH.
| Area. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,869 acres. | ||||||
| Population. | New Dwellings Erected. | |||||
| Registrar General's | Houses 62 | |||||
| Estimate mid-year, 1946 85,820 | Flats20 | |||||
| Demolished Houses Rebuilt 64 | ||||||
| Relative figures for previous years. | ||||||
| Po pulation—Mid-Year. | New Houses Erected. | |||||
| 1931 (Census) 33,150 | 1,165 | |||||
| 1938 (R.G.'s Estimate) 77,020 | 1,170 | |||||
| 1939 80,110 | 1,002 | |||||
| 1940 77,670 | 113 | |||||
| 1941 72,080 | Nil | |||||
| 1942 77,020 | 5 | |||||
| 1943 76,740 | 5 | |||||
| 1944 71,130 | nil | |||||
| 1945 75,040 | 2 | |||||
| Number of inhabited houses at end of 1946 (according to Rate Books) approximately 24,592 | ||||||
| Rateable Value £597,438 | ||||||
| Sum represented by a penny rate £2,425 | ||||||
| Unemployment. | Men | Women | Boys | Girls | Total | |
| December 31st, 1945 | 122 | 43 | 38 | 42 | 245 | |
| December 31st, 1946 | 336 | 38 | 19 | 10 | 403 | |
Social Conditions and Amenities.
The year 1946 saw what was virtually the end of the
Government Evacuation Scheme and the demobilisation of
His Majesty's Services. This meant in effect the re-establishment
of family life very much disturbed by the war. It also
emphasised housing shortages due to bombing and to the
continued stoppage of new housing construction.
The relief from bombing and the anxieties of war have
compensated, to a certain extent, for the shortage of food and
other consumable commodities and the general health has been
generally maintained at a good level as the statistics of the
Borough will show.
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