View report page

PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL ANNUAL DEATHS OCCURRING
UNDER THE AGE OF 1 YEAR RECORDED AT 5 YEAR
INTERVALS
This graph shows that up to the year 1900 approximately 40
out of 100 deaths occurring in Wood Green, i.e. 2 out of 5, were in
infants not yet aged 1 year.
Over the last 10 years between 2 and 3 only out of 100 deaths
in the Borough are of babies under a year and 65-70 out of 100
deaths are now of people over the age of 65. The killing diseases
of infancy then were chiefly the diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia
which were no respectors of class or person. 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 1 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 the babies born lived to maturity.
Of tremendous importance to the nation is this survival to
maturity of over 90% of children born in contrast to the survival of
only approximately 50% up to 1900.
When one considers that Sir Winston Churchill, born 90 years
ago, was a premature infant and greatly “ at risk ”, one realises how
many great men and women must have been lost to the nation and to
the world by this tragic loss of young life.
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.