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PERCENTAGE OF ANNUAL TOTAL DEATHS OCCURRING
UNDER THE AGE OF ONE YEAR AND OVER
THE AGE OF 65
This is a very interesting graph, showing the increasing age
and life-span of the population of Southgate, taken at approximately
five-yearly intervals from 1895 to 1964.
Today less than two out of 100 deaths in the Borough are of
babies under a year, and 70-75 out of 100 deaths are now in people
over the age of 65. In 1895 a third of the total deaths were in
infants, and only 23 out of 100 who died had reached the age of
65. The killing diseases of infancy then were chiefly the diarrhoeal
diseases and pneumonia which were no respectors of class or
persons. Few families of any size had not suffered such a loss.
A factor not shown in this graph, is the present phenomenally
low death rate between the ages of one and 65. This means that
having survived the first year of life, there is now a very great
expectation of living to 65 years or more.
In the early days, not only was there a high infantile death
rate, but the loss of young lives from tuberculosis and other
infections meant that possibly only half of the babies born lived
to maturity.
Of tremendous importance to the nation is this survival to
maturity of 90 to 95% of children in contrast to the survival of only
approximately 50% prior to 1900.
When one considers that Sir Winston Churchill, born 90 years
ago, was a premature infant and greatly "at risk," one realises how
manv great men and women must have been lost to the nation
Surely it is a heartening thought that, whatever potential for
greatness exists in the nation, it now has the opportunity to mature
and declare itself.