[Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Royal Tunbridge Wells Borough.

  • Tunbridge Wells (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1944
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Royal Tunbridge Wells Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    8/52 (page 6)
    BOROUGH OF ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS. Public Health Department, Town Hall, Tunbridge Wells. To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells. Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour to present the annual report for the Borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells for 1944. The year was one of continued war strain, which placed heavy burdens on the Health Department. The clerical staff was depleted, but struggled willingly and loyally under the burden of work. The appointment of Mr. H. M. Coles as Administrative Assistant in October, 1944, has enabled much of the back work, which was accumulating, to be overtaken. The report which is enclosed upon Manor Grange Sick Bay for Evacuee Children is entirely his work. It involved delving into many records, as no report has hitherto been published on this Hospital, for the staffing and running of which I have been responsible. On looking up old records, I find that, though the popula¬ tion of Tunbridge Wells has increased by less than 2,000 in the past 45 years, the change in its composition has been con¬ siderable. Taking the quinquennium 1896-1900, of every 100 deaths, 63 were those of persons under 65 years, and 37 of those over 65 years. In the quinquennium 1940-1944, 28 deaths were those of persons under 65 years, and 72 those of persons over this age. This change is a remarkable tribute to the improved conditions which have prevailed, and which have not only increased the average longevity of persons living in the town, but have improved the health and efficiency of the inhabitants to a remarkable degree.