As a Result of Those Shopkeepe
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a ‘number of shops previously classed as dairies were transferred to the class grocers shops’ as a result of those shopkeepers beginning to sell groceries as well as dairy products.1 It is an interesting coincidence and no conclusions can be drawn without further evidence which is not available. However, there is no escaping the fact that Arthur enlisted on 28 April 1915 which was just over two weeks before Letitia Elsie died. It is very likely she was infected prior to his departure as measles has an incubation period of 7-21 days in which the child is apparently well. Pneumonia is a common complication and Leitita Elsie’s death certificate stated the cause of death to be bronchopmneumonia as well as measles.2 Arthur and Jane would never have realised about the infection or its possible source and it must be remembered that the infection could equally have come from elsewhere. It must have been awful for Jane to have to cope with her husband going to war, wondering if she would ever see him again, followed rapidly by the death of their child. As mentioned previously, Arthur was honourably discharged from the Army in April 1917 and seems to have returned to his previous occupation of greengrocer. Unfortunately, 1917 seems to have been another difficult year for this part of Paddington. The Public Health Report states that there were two exceptional storms on the 16 and 28 June. The writer comments that the ‘hourly falls were 52 and 37 times the hourly capacity of the sewers’. The result was overflowing sewers and flooding on a large scale. Interestingly, the writer also comments that with the ‘covering of the roads with impervious materials and of the adjacent grounds with houses’ the rain, which would previously be absorbed by the ground, was flowing into the sewers. This is a problem not unheard of today as more gardens are paved over to create parking spaces. The author of the Public Health Report continues to describe the areas affected by the flooding and, although he did not mention Brindley Street by name, the various streets he mentioned were very nearby. Brindley Street’s proximity to the canal also needs to be borne in mind. There were complaints from many households 96 of which had basement rooms in which the bedding was ‘found to be saturated with sewage’. The bedding was removed by the Council and replaced with new. It seems that by 18 July the Acting Medical Officer of Health reported that: All the flooded houses have now been cleansed…and the rooms are now in a fairly habitable condition. This author wonders what the definition of ‘fairly habitable condition’ was. It seems a collection was organised and a sum of £406 (approximately £25,000 today) was raised as a relief fund.3 Table 1 on Pages 43 – 47 is a chronology of the family’s residences, Arthur’s occupation, others resident at the same address, deaths and children taken into care. It can easily be seen that others were 1 Reginald Dudfield, Medical Officer of Health, Report on the Vital Statistics and the Work of the Public Health Department for the year 1914-18 Metropolitan Borough of Paddington. 2 Letitia Elsie Grange death: GRO Reference: District: Paddington; Year 1915; Quarter: 2, Vol.1a; Page 74. 3http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/resources/inflationtools/calculator/default.aspx; Reginald Dudfield, Medical Officer of Health, Report on the Vital Statistics and the Work of the Public Health Department for the year 1914-18Metropolitan Borough of Paddington. resident with Arthur, Jane and their family throughout their lives. Arthur commenced employment as a porter with the National Health Insurance Office and subsequently a messenger with the Ministry of Health. The job description seems to vary but Arthur seems to have stayed with the same employer. The work of the National Health Insurance Commissions of England and Wales was taken over by the Ministry of Health when it was established in 1919. Arthur’s war service would probably have played a role in him gaining these positions. It is not known why he did not continue as a greengrocer. Perhaps the government employment provided better remuneration and was less demanding physically. Arthur’s physical condition is not known apart from the knowledge he was no longer fit for war service as a result of the wounds he sustained. Whatever the situation, Arthur and Jane were by no means well off financially and the strain of a growing family must have taken its toll. Jane’s aunt, Letitia Morgan, was also living with the family. Letitia appears to have cared for Jane when she was younger and it would appear the relationship was a close one. It does seem likely that Arthur and Jane’s eldest child was named Letitia in honour of Jane’s aunt. Please see Chapters 4 and 5 for more details Letitia Morgan and Jane Grange’s (née Handley) family. Letitia Morgan died on 13 August 1921 at 50 Brindley Street. Letitia’s death certificate states Jane was present at the death – perhaps she had nursed Letitia. According to the death certificate Letitia Morgan had suffered from enteritis and vomiting for five days – it must have been very grim indeed. The lack of health care provision, lack of fluids, lack of hospital care, no intravenous infusion and probable poor sanitation make for a dismal picture. Whether or not Arthur and Jane had any form of health insurance is not known. The health insurance scheme, as it was, applied only to wage earners whose families had to rely on the outpatient clinics of voluntary hospitals. Many people were not insured at all – Letitia Morgan was quite probably one of those. Interestingly, 1921 experienced a particularly hot July and it was the driest year of the twentieth century.4 Letitia Morgan was one of only three adults to die of diarrhoea and enteritis in 1921 but there were 90 deaths in Paddington overall - 75 in babies less than a year old.5 The Public Health Report for 1921 makes some interesting and illuminating remarks regarding the conditions experienced by those living in Paddington. The author mentions the lack of up to date population data even though the 1921 Census had been conducted but the results had not been made available a year later. He comments therefore that there was no sure way of estimating morbidity rates which the author said: ‘are sure tests of the sanitary state of the community’. He remarked that the Public Health Department needed to do more but it could not due to a lack of staff. There were 4 Weather Booty, Historical Weather Events,.http://booty.org.uk/booty.weather/climate/1850_1899.htm; Central England Temperature Series, Met Office, http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet. Consulted November 2017 5 Reginald Dudfield, Medical Officer of Health, Report on the Vital Statistics and the Work of the Public Health Department for the year 1921 Metropolitan Borough of Paddington. arrears in improvements and ‘in the work of the sanitary repairs’ from the war which were far from being completed. The borough was responsible for the employment of sanitary inspectors. According to the writer the state of the housing demonstrated the lack of staff to meet the needs of the borough.6 Dr Dudfield, author of the Public Health Report, commented that Westbourne was one of the wards where the death rate was ‘consistently in excess of the standard’. There were ongoing drainage and sewer problems since the war and work desperately needed to be done to remedy those problems. Dr Dudfield was also of the opinion that the increase in traffic weight and speed contributed to these problems. The roads at that time were not sufficiently strong to cope with the pressure applied to them thus causing damage to any underlying structures. Unfortunately, for Arthur and Jane, Brindley Street was one of several streets given ‘special area’ status, by the Borough of Paddington, which meant, amongst other things, it was designated as an area that required annual cleansing.7 This does not present a good picture at all. It seems that the standard of housing in the area was a significant problem and efforts were being made to ensure adequate levels of sanitation. Dr Dudfield, remarked that the level of overcrowding had decreased but many houses were in need of repair and upgrading. There was also the problem of unscrupulous landlords. The author commented that: …the deficiency in housing accommodation makes the necessity of putting existing premises in decent repair all the greater. There was a shortage of staff in 1921 and only 55 notices for compulsory repairs had been issued compared with 141 in 1920. Tenement houses were still below pre-war standard and Dr Dudfield commented that tenements would take longer to inspect, they had more defects and closer supervision of them was required. He mentioned that 1404 houses were on the register to be inspected but that this number reflected just a part of the real state of affairs. It is not known if Arthur and Jane lived in a house that had been converted to tenements but, given the other occupants listed in the electoral registers (the electoral register did not include those not eligible to vote but would still have been resident), it would be reasonable to believe this was the case. The Public Health Report of 1921 is depressing without the problems brought about by the weather of the same year. Dr Dudfield commented on the weather of 1921 and the detailed temperatures that were recorded in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Regent’s Park.