You might have been told when you were younger was the reason why the clocks go forward in the spring is to help farmers to make the most of the longer days. But the origins of BST, also known as Daylight Savings Time, has a lot more to do with saving candles than extra time on the fields.
The idea is said to have been first proposed by American scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin in 1784, although he merely suggested Parisians change their sleep schedules to save money on candles and lamp oil.
However, it wasn't until 1907 when a serious proposal was made by builder William Willett in Britain. Willett, Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather, was angry that daylight was being wasted in the summer, so he self-published a pamphlet called 'The Waste of Daylight'
It took quite a bit of convincing to bring in an official change, and it wasn't until after the builder died it was brought in. BST was introduced via the Summer Time Act 1916 as a way to save fuel and money. The logic was that it was pointless to waste electricity when there was actual daylight still to be used.
When do the clocks go forward?
In 2022 the clocks go forward on Sunday, March 27, marking the start of BST. The clocks always change at 1am on the last Sunday of the month so there is as little disruption as possible. That means that you'll suddenly see the time on your phone automatically jump from 1am to 2am, meaning we lose an hour of sleep. Last year this fell on Sunday, March 28. The clocks will go back again on the final Sunday of October, which falls on October 30 this year.
