Whilst researching life on prison hulks I came across the following information which I thought might be of interest to others.

There were two significant cholera epidemics in the mid 19th century: one in 1848 and the second in 1854.

In 1848 53,000 people in England and Wales lost their lives, and in the second 20,000.

The population of England and Wales at the time was just under 18 million.

Today the equivalent population is around 56 million, or about a 3 fold increase.