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TO THE
MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE
BOROUGH OF SOUTHGATE
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen
I beg to present my Annual Report for 1961.
As Medical Officer of Health for the Borough, I feel that
I am extremely fortunate in having been able to state in so many
Annual Reports that "the year under review was once again
uneventful." This may have made my yearly survey less
interesting and undoubtedly less exciting than might otherwise have
been. None the less, it clearly points to the happy position in
which Southgate has found itself for so many years. It is here
that one finds clear evidence of the planning which has gone into
the shaping of the Borough; of the vigilance which past Councils
have lovingly exercised over so many years. Our present duty
is equally clear, and could be reduced to the single, time worn
phrase: "that which we have, we hold." I have said this many
times before, and make no apology for saying it again. If for
one moment the staff of the Public Health Department (to mention
only the Department for which I am responsible) were to flag
in its efforts, were to take things for granted, were to assume that
the march of time could be stayed merely by referring to past
glories or by waving an invisible wand; if any of these contingencies
were to come about, the results might not be immediately obvious,
but they would be none the less far-reaching and, eventually,
disastrous. If Southgate ever neglects these basic truisms—and I
sincerely hope it never does—the proud place which the Borough
at present holds will forever have disappeared. This may appear
a gloomy prognostication. Yet we must never allow ourselves to
forget that the birthright we enjoy today is at once precious, in
many ways unique, but at the same time extremely viable.
I cannot prevent a feeling of nostalgia when I remember the
ground which the Annual Reports produced before the war in
Southgate used to cover. I certainly carry out the same work,
but much of this work—indeed the most fascinating portion of
the work i.e. the personal health services—is undertaken on behalf
of the Middlesex County Council. It is no part of my duty to
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