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MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Population.
There are 108,220 people living in Twickenham Borough. In 1937 there
were 94,230. In 13 years the population has risen by almost 14,000; the largest
increase occurred in 1946 when large numbers of service men returned home;
many of them had married, especially in the early war years, they now sought
homes and started families. In 1947 there were 500 more babies born than
usual.
The advance in medical science and in the improvements in social
conditions of the people have greatly extended the expectation of life. A
hundred years ago the expectation of life was about 40 years; today it is
over 60 years, therefore the number of elderly people in the population has
risen proportionately greater year by year. Fifty years ago the proportion
of the population over 45 years of age was about 20 per cent.; now the proportion
has risen to about 35 per cent. At the more advanced ages the problem of the
maintenance of old people is already serious. The group over 65 years of age
is now about 14 per cent, of the population, whereas 50 years ago it was under
5 per cent. Although, until the next census is taken, we have no exact figures
of the actual numbers of old people in Twickenham, there must be somewhere
between 10,000 and 15,000 of them. There is thus one elderly person being
maintained for every six men and women of working age. In another 20
years or so, the proportion will be one to four or even one to three. The
reproduction rate for Twickenham, that is the number of girl babies born
who will replace their mothers in the next generation is being maintained
at a level which is more than sufficient. Looked at from the point of view of
the number of unproductive mouths to feed, there are about 19,000 children
and 12,000 old people; it is approximately true to say that married men in
the prime of life are each, on the average, supporting three other people.
Being Born.
About 1,600 new babies are born each year. The rate is 15 babies for
every 1,000 of the population in the town, which is about the same as pre-war.
We have passed the peak period in 1946 when the rate rose to 19. We lose
between 20 and 30 babies every year due to still-birth, which is often caused
by poor health in the expectant mothers. In addition, about 30 babies die
every year before they are one year old. Most of them die before they are a
month old; many of them are feeble creatures with a poor hold on life, either
premature or deformed; in some cases it is a blessing they do not survive.
About 50 years ago it was quite common for a town of this size to have 150
babies die in the first year of life. The mothers of Twickenham are among
the best in the country for the way they look after their infants. The child
welfare services are doing splendid work teaching them how to do it.
Dying.
Every year in this town 1,200 people die. They certainly do not die any
faster than anywhere else in the country. Heart disease takes the highest
toll of 400; next comes cancer with 220; stroke takes off 140; and chest diseases,
such as bronchitis and pneumonia, account for 110. These four groups carry
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