A matter of time

The clocks go forward this month, but what does it all mean?

What started with a throwaway remark in 1784 has influenced our lives for more than 100 years. But although one of America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, observed on a visit to France that Parisiennes should be woken an hour earlier by cannons and church bells, the concept of Daylight Saving Time (DST) – or as it is more widely-known British Summer Time – did not gain traction until 1895 when a New Zealand scientist, George Vernon Hudson, proposed to his government that the clocks should go forward by two hours every summer.

Although he was unsuccessful, an English builder, William Willett, began lobbying Parliament in 1907 to alter the clocks to create more hours of daylight in the summer. Although cynics sniped it was to allow Willett more time to play golf and ride out, he argued we were frittering away natural light by rising at the same time in the summer as in the darker days of winter.

He advocated putting clocks forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) by 80 minutes (20 minutes at a time during April) and reversing it in similar stages throughout September. But it wasn’t until the spring of 1916, a year after his death, that Willett’s proposal was adopted - and then only by an hour – as wartime governments around Europe tried to cut fuel consumption and increase productivity.

Incidentally, Willett is the greatgreat-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who co-wrote the track Clocks for the group’s album, A Rush Of Blood To The Head. A nod to his ancestor, perhaps?

Anyway, apart from a spell during, and immediately after, the second World War when they were brought forward two hours to avoid fuel shortages, that’s the way it stayed until 1968 when Britain spent three years in DST.

But fears around road safety prompted a return to the status quo, disappointing those who argued changing the clocks twice a year upset natural sleep rhythms which could ultimately lead to health problems. To say nothing of the shocks suffered by those who had forgotten to change and couldn’t work out what was going on.

Our former European colleagues also tackled time in 2018, when the European Union commissioned a study which found 84 per cent of people in countries which had DST wanted it discontinued. It gave member states the option to continue in summer time by adjusting their clocks for the last time this month, while those opting for permanent winter time would turn back their clocks in October.

For most of us, though, it all revolves around whether, for one day, we are gaining – or losing – an extra hour under the duvet. So, in this case, it means after 1am on Sunday March 28th, we spring forward from our beds, desperately hoping the other half remembered to adjust the central heating settings.

The main advantage, of course, is that evenings gradually become lighter, promoting more activity after work, which is obviously good for general health and the retail sector, which has long complained that darker, colder afternoons reduce footfall apart from around Christmas.

Roads also become safer. Figures show casualty rates peak at 8am and 10am and worsen at 3pm and 7pm during darker hours and deteriorating road conditions when cyclists – particularly children on their way home from school – are most at risk.

There are also environmental benefits, as demand for electricity decreases in correlation with the increased hours of daylight as well as rising temperatures. Plus nature starts to break out of its winter slumber to bring splashes of colour to the countryside.

Consequently, people generally feel happier and more energetic. Employers’ organisations say there are lower sickness rates among their workers while instances of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as winter depression) drop significantly, while carb cravings are also lowered.

And once the clocks go forward, the clock starts ticking down to the first of the Bank Holiday weekends, heralded by the four-day Easter blockbuster, followed by two more in May and another at the end of August.

So, as you ponder the complexities of resetting the timer on the boiler count yourself fortunate.

There are more than 2,000 clocks in the Houses of Parliament.

And the time on your Smartphone updates automatically.

Nature starts to break out of its winter slumber to bring splashes of colour to the countryside