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14
15 deaths (13 male and two female) were the result of road accidents.
Of these 10 occurred elsewhere than in this district. In most of these a
motor vehicle was involved. There were five fatal road accidents in the
district. Two of those who died were youths on motor-cycles who
collided with lorries. Two were pedestrians, one being knocked down
by a cyclist, the other by a motor-cyclist; and the other was a cyclist who
was knocked down by a motor-car.
Falls of the elderly accounted for the deaths of 13 (two male and
11 female). In nearly all instances the fall occurred at home; in only
one case was it outside.
Poisoning by coal gas was responsible for the death of only one
person this year, as contrasted with a figure of seven in 1951. Burns
caused the deaths of five persons, three of whom were elderly.
Deaths from Suicide.
There was a sharp rise this year in the number of persons who committed
suicide, the figures being 24 (14 male and 10 female), the corresponding
figures for 1951 being 18 (10 and eight). Eight of the men and
seven of the women chose poisoning by coal gas. Four of the men chose
other forms of poisoning. Two of the women elected death by hanging.
In some years the distribution of suicides is fairly even throughout
the year. This last year it was most uneven as 11 of the suicides took
place in January or in November.
The age distribution of the deaths in the two sexes differed markedly.
In 1951, all of the females were above 40 years of age but under 70; the
only difference this year was the one death in one over 70. As a contrast,
two of the males were under 20, and two were in their 20's; the numbers
in each of the succeeding decades were 3, 2, 1 and 6. None of the males
was over 70.
Deaths from Cancer.
Of the 1,920 deaths of residents in the district, 386 were due to
cancer, this causing 19 per cent. of the deaths of males and 21 per cent
of those of females.
Of the 199 deaths from this cause amongst males, in 69 the site
was the lung (the same figure as in 1951) and in 32 the stomach. Of the
187 deaths amongst females, the site was the breast in 39 and 23 in the
stomach, in 22 the lung (as contrasted with 12 in 1951) and the uterus
in eight.
Although cancer was the cause of death of three males of under 35
years of age, it was not until after this age that it figured as a substantial
proportion of the deaths. In the age group 35 to 45, the percentage of
deaths from this cause was 11; the percentage in the succeeding decennial
periods was 23, 27, 20, and amongst those over 75 years of age only 14.
Higher figures are recorded in each group for females, the percentage in
the age group 35 to 44 being 33, and in the succeeding decennial periods
50, 35 and 16, and amongst those women who were over 75 when they
died, in 20 per cent. the cause was cancer. This distribution is much