[Report 1943] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough.

  • Cheltenham (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1943
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1943] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Borough of CheIt enham LIBRARy EXTRACT from MNUAL REPORT For the Year 1945 Vlfal Statistics Population, Houses, Buildings, etc. The Registrar General’s estimate of the population for mid-year 1943 is 61,260 compared v/ith an estimate of 65,770 for the previous ^rear. The Rating Officer has recently made a detailed estimate of the number of Duelling-houses and other buildings in the town. The figures arrived at are as follows^- Dwelling-houses 14,321 Dwelling-house \;ith shops at tached- 594 ToteY of inhabited horses Uninhabited buildings, including lock-up shops, stores, factories, v/orks, schools, colleges and cinemas, total 1076. The figures do not include non rated buildings su.ch as churches and- daurch schools. The rateable value of the Borough stands at £475,264, showing an Increase of £2,155 and the su.m rerresented by a penny rate is £1,950, an increase of £50. Births The tott.j. nunber of births in the Borough during the year was 2016 of which 57 were still births. There were 23 cases of twins. The number of births ascribed to permanent residents was 1182 including 41 still birtlis. This gives a birth rate of 18*6 live births per 1000 populs^tion, the highest rate since 1920 when the rate was 21*3. Illegitimate Births. Illegitimate births numbered 112 giving a rate of 95 per 1000 total births. The rates for previous years, from i942 back to 1935 are as follov;s^~ (1942) 83, 77, 42, 54, 54, 65, 56 r-nd (1935) 62. Dr. Percy Stocks, Medical Sto.tistician to the Ministry of Health, has shown that up to s.nd includ.ing 1341 the increased, illegitimacy rate wa j more than balanced by a decrease in the number of births occurring during the first eight months after ma rriage, His suggestion is that many of the illegitimate births would have been legitimised by marriage had not circumstances associated with the war interfered. The full figures for 1942 and 1943 which arc required for this invostigsdion are not yet a.vailablG, Dr. Stocks sts-tos as a result of his investigations so far that ' “it must b- concluded that up to 1941 there was no v/ar time incres.se in extra-marital conceptions'',