Could a modern industrial society like the UK really be putting up with this kind of mortality rate on an annual basis?

Well, for comparison, a modern industrial society like the USA puts up with about 50,000 MVA deaths per year (Motor Vehicle Accidents). Albeit with six times the population of the UK. That's about 135 MVA deaths per day.

A pointless correction maybe...UK populaton just over 60 million..US population just under 300 million I think.