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
Woolwich 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
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| Age Group (Age last Birthday). | Persons 1931. | 1951. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons. | Males. | Females. | ||
| 0—4 | 10,391 | 12,522 | 6,445 | 6,077 |
| 5—9 | 12,181 | 10,558 | 5,500 | 5,058 |
| 10—14 | 12,164 | 8,669 | 4,352 | 4,317 |
| 15—19 | 13,528 | 8,958 | 4,905 | 4,053 |
| 20—24 | 13,300 | 10,098 | 5,209 | 4,889 |
| 25—29 | 12,555 | 11,613 | 5,725 | 5,888 |
| 30—34 | 11,485 | 11,178 | 5,512 | 5,666 |
| 35—39 | 10,740 | 11,273 | 5,657 | 5,616 |
| 40—44 | 9,649 | 10,923 | 5,524 | 5,399 |
| 45—49 | 8,995 | 10,498 | 5,132 | 5,366 |
| 50—54 | 8,543 | 9,657 | 4,555 | 5,102 |
| 55—59 | 7,505 | 8,607 | 3,905 | 4,702 |
| 60—64 | 6,032 | 7,459 | 3,397 | 4,062 |
| 65—74 | 7,239 | 10,560 | 4,510 | 6,050 |
| 75 and over | 2,574 | 5,318 | 2,006 | 3,312 |
| 146,881 | 147,891 | 72,334 | 75,557 | |
The total of 15,878 persons over the age of 65, which is 10.7 per cent. of the
population of the Borough, compares favourably with 11.1 per cent. for the
Administrative County of London. The percentage of children of school age against
the total Borough population is higher than the great majority of Metropolitan
Boroughs, only Greenwich, Poplar and Shoreditch having higher percentages of
school children.
The birth places of the persons residing in Woolwich at the time of the Census
are recorded as follows: England, 136,111; Wales, 2,230; Scotland, 2,400;
Northern Ireland, 637; Irish Republic, 2,357.
The number of occupied or retired males aged 15 years or over in the Borough
was 53,869. Classified according to the Registrar-General's official classification
of occupations or professions they fall into the following classes: Class 1, 2,049;
Class 2, 7,081; Class 3, 31,305; Class 4, 5,425; Class 5, 8,009. Examples of
occupations or professions classified within the five groups are as follows : Class
1—Clergymen, Solicitors, Doctors, Company Directors; Class 2—Teachers, Managers
of retail business, Local Government Administrative, etc.; Class 3—Foremen,
Skilled Workers, Clerical and Typists, Salesmen and Shop Assistants, Policemen,
other ranks in the Forces; Class 4—Domestic servants, bus conductors, semi-skilled
workers ; Class 5—Labourers, Navvies, Porters, Messengers, Lift Attendants, etc.
The Report shows that 95.6 per cent. of the total population of the Borough
are in occupation of private households, the remaining persons being in hotels,
boarding houses, nursing homes and defence establishments, etc.
There has been a 33 per cent. increase in the number of dwellings in the Borough
since 1931. Compared with London as a whole there are few one or two roomed
dwellings, and comparatively few households sharing dwellings. The size of households
is higher than average, and the proportion of households with non-married
heads is comparatively small.
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