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SECTION I
STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE AREA.
SITE AND AREA. The County Borough of West Ham lies in the County of Essex within an area
about miles from north to south and about 2 miles from east to west (4,689 acres). It is
bounded on the north by the Boroughs of Leyton, Hackney and Wanstead and Woodford and by East
Ham on the east, on the south by the River Thames and on the west by the Metropolitan Boroughs
of Poplar and Hackney. The area is flat and low lying varying from 5 to 45 feet above sea level®
POPULATION. The estimated civilian population in 1948 was 173,700: an increase of
1,830 on the previous year.
After reaching a peak of 318,500 in 1925 the population declined gradually to 250,000
in 1939, and in 1942, owing to evacuation, fell to 117,300. Thereafter the population grew
rapidly with the return of evacuees. Although the increase in population due to migration is
now much slower, it should be noted that under the Greater London plan West Ham is to be
planned for a population of 165,000.
BIRTH RATE. Live Births. The number of live births during the year was 3,661. This
gives a rate of 21.0 per 1,000 total population The rate for 19.7 was 26.6. Illegitimate
births accounted for 154 or 4.2 per cento of all live births® The rate for 1947 was 4.6.
Stillbirths. There were 76 stillbirths giving a rate of 20 (per 1,000
total births)® This is a slight improvement on the previous year when the rate was 22.
As is well known the birth rate for the country as a whole rose soon after the war
began and this trend continued more sharply in the immediate post-war years. Nineteen forty
eight is the first year to show a decline. The same phenomenon was experienced after the
1914-18 war and like it the present high rate is not likely to be long maintained.
DEATHS. During the year 1,719 West Ham residents died, giving a crude death rate of
9.9 (per 1,000 population) as compared with 11.9 for the year 1947. The figure for the country
as a whole was 11.0. It is not easy to tell the true significance of these figures, for a
community of old people even in excellent surroundings will show more deaths than one of young
people living under poor conditions. So long after the last census it is not possible to divide
the local population into age groups and by calculation make allowance for differing age
tures in divers areas. It is not likely that the age structure of the West Ham population has
changed much between 1947 and 1948, so the comparison between the two years is probably accurate
and the fall in the death rate represents a real, though not necessarily permanent, improvement.,
The causes of death at different periods of life and distinguishing between male and
female are given in appendix No.l page 37.
Deaths from diseases of the heart and circulatory system (715) and from cancer (293.)
form the biggest single groups. These are characteristically diseases of old age, and it is
difficult to comment on the figures without knowing the numbers of old people at risk.
INFANT MORTALITY. The deaths of children under 1 year of age are a guide to the
healthiness of an area, and so are a matter of considerable interest. In 1947 there were
190 such deaths giving a rate of 4l per 1,000 live births; the rate for England and Wales
as a whole was 4l.
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