The days are getting shorter and the nights are drawing in but the good news is we can all look forward to an extra hour in bed, thanks to Farnham born, William Willett.
When do the clocks go forward?
This year we will be rewinding the clocks back an hour to Greenwich Mean Time at 2am on Sunday 29th October.
Who decided this should happen?
William Willett was born in Farnham, Surrey and joined his father’s building business creating quality houses in choice parts of London and the south. It is reported that after riding his horse near his home early one summer morning and noticing how many blinds were still down, William had the idea for daylight saving time.
In 1907, using his own finances, he created a pamphlet called "The Waste of Daylight" suggesting that clocks should be advanced by 80 minutes over four stages in April, and reversed the same way in September. This would ensure that the evenings remain lighter for longer, increasing daylight recreation time and also saving £2.5 million in lighting costs. He campaigned vigorously to get this passed as a law through parliament.
The outbreak of the First World War made this issue much more important as it would give workers an extra hour of sunlight and help to save coal. The bill was finally passed in Britain on 17 May 1916 and the clocks were first advanced by an hour on Sunday 21st May (although the Germans beat us to it and already introduced the scheme!).
Sadly William did not live to see his idea become law, as he died of influenza at the age of 58 in 1915.
