British Summer Time

British Summer Time (BST)
1916 to 1980 One hour advanced of GMT. Changing at 2am GMT.

Webmaster's Note: To make this confusing matter clearer, in the spring when the clocks are put forward
2am GMT becomes 3am BST. Then in the autumn when the clocks are put back 2am BST becomes 1am GMT. Many English Astrologers get this wrong, so if you live outside the UK you can be forgiven for being confused. In fact in England the TV guides usually get it wrong on the day of the change, including occasionally The London Times. ie They are one hour out of the true time,

1916 21 May to 01 Oct
1917 08 Apr to 17 Sep
1918 24 Mar to 30 Sep
1919 30 Mar to 29 Sep
1920 28 Mar to 25 Oct
1921 03 Apr to 03 Oct
1922 26 Mar to 08 Oct
1923 22 Apr to 16 Sep
1924 13 Apr to 21 Sep
1925 19 Apr to 04 Oct
1926 18 Apr to 03 Oct
1927 10 Apr to 02 Oct
1928 22 Apr to 07 Oct
1929 25 Apr to 06 Oct
1930 13 Apr to 05 Oct
1931 19 Apr to 04 Oct
1932 17 Apr to 02 Oct
1933 09 Apr to 08 Oct
1934 22 Apr to 07 Oct
1935 14 Apr to 06 Oct
1936 19 Apr to 04 Oct
1937 04 Apr to 03 Oct
1938 10 Apr to 02 Oct
1939 16 Apr to 19 Nov
1940 25 Feb to 31 Dec
*1941 01 Jan to 31 Dec DST:04 May to 10 Aug
*1942 01 Jan to 31 Dec DST:05 Apr to 09 Aug
*1943 01 Jan to 31 Dec DST:04 Apr to 15 Aug
*1944 01 Jan to 31 Dec DST:02 Apr to 17 Sep
*1945 01 Jan to 31 Dec DST:02 Apr to 15 Jul
1946 14 Apr to 06 Oct
*1947 16 Mar to 02 Nov DST:13 Apr to 10 Aug
1948 14 Mar to 31 Oct
1949 03 Apr to 30 Oct
1950 16 Apr to 22 Oct
1951 15 Apr to 21 Oct
1952 20 Apr to 26 Oct
1953 19 Apr to 04 Oct
1954 11 Apr to 03 Oct
1955 17 Apr to 02 Oct
1956 22 Apr to 07 Oct
1957 14 Apr to 06 Oct
1958 20 Apr to 05 Oct
1959 19 Apr to 04 Oct
1960 10 Apr to 02 Oct
1961 26 Mar to 29 Oct
1962 25 Mar to 28 Oct
1963 31 Mar to 27 Oct
1964 22 Mar to 25 Oct
1965 21 Mar to 24 Oct
1966 20 Mar to 23 Oct
1967 19 Mar to 29 Oct
~1968 Adopted ST meridian 15E00 02.00 hrs. No BST observed
~1969 No Bst Observed But Used St Meridian 15e00
~1970 No BST observed but used ST meridian 15E00
~1971 No BST observed but used ST meridian 15E00
~01 Jan to 31 Dec

~Webmaster's note. Yet another failed experiment, The Prime Minister of the day thought what a lovely idea it would be for British business if we used the same time as the continent. It meant, in winter in northern Scotland that it was dark at 2pm, and elsewhere children comming out of school in the dark, were being knocked down like bowling pins. The government claimed that the children were simply being knocked down in the afternoon, instead of the morning, the controversy went on for four years. The idea was dropped on Jan the first 1972.

1972 19 Mar to 29 Oct 1st November reverted to ST meridian 00W00 00.00
hrs
1973 18 Mar to 28 Oct
1974 17 Mar to 27 Oct
1975 16 Mar to 26 Oct
1976 21 Mar to 24 Oct
1977 20 Mar to 23 Oct
1978 19 Mar to 22 Oct
1979 18 Mar to 26 Oct
1980 16 Mar to 26 Oct

* Double Summer Time.
#Easter Sunday.

1941 04 May to 10 Aug
1942 05 Apr to 09 Aug
1943 04 Apr to 15 Aug
1944 02 Apr to 17 Sep
#1945 02 Apr to 15 Jul
1946 no double summer time.
1947 13 Apr to 10 Aug. Webmasters Note: This was an experiment in
double summer time, which was dropped the following year due to complaints from farmers in England, and especially in Scotland.

This is yet another example of the old saying that: Yor can't please everybody all of the time.
<P>
The idea of Summer Time, or Daylight Saving Time, was first suggested in a whimsical article by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. In 1907 an Englishman, William Willett campaigned to advance clocks by 80 minutes, by 4 moves of 20 minutes at the beginning of the spring and summer months and to return to GMT in a similar manner in the autumn. In 1908 the House of Commons rejected a Bill to advance the clocks by one hour during the spring and summer months.

Summer Time was first defined in an Act of 1916 that ordained that for a certain period during the year legal time should be one hour in advance of GMT. The Summer Time Acts of 1922 to 1925 extended the period during which Summer Time was in force and so, from 1916 up to the Second World War, clocks were put in advance of GMT by one hour from the spring to the autumn.

During the Second World War, Double Summer Time (2 hours in advance of GMT) was introduced and was used for the period when, normally ordinary Summer Time would have been in force. During the winter clocks were kept one hour in advance of GMT. After the war Summer Time was invoked each year from 1948 to 1967. In 1968 clocks were advanced one hour ahead of GMT on Feb 18 and remained so until British Standard Time, during which clocks were kept in advance of GMT all year, came into force between Oct 27, 1968 and Oct 31, 1971.

The Summer Time Act 1972 defined the period of British Summer Time to start at 2 am (GMT) on the morning of the day after the third Saturday in March or, if that was Easter Day, the day after the second Saturday. It was to end at 2 am (GMT) on the day after the fourth Saturday in October. The duration of British Summer Time can be varied by Order of Council and in recent years has been changed so as to bring the date of the start of Summer Time into line with that used in Europe.

The rule for 1981-1994 defined the start of Summer Time in the UK as the last Sunday in March and the end as the day following the fourth Saturday in October. The time of change was altered to 1 am (GMT).

There was no rule for the dates of Summer Time for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997, but the ad-hoc dates were:
1995 March 26 to October 22
1996 March 31 to October 27
1997 March 30 to October 26
all changes taking place at 1 am GMT.

The European Union has now adopted The Eighth European Parliament and Council Directive on Summer Time Arrangements in which it states that summer (or daylight saving) time will be kept between the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The changes will take place at 1am GMT. The dates are
1998 March 29 to October 25
1999 March 28 to October 31
2000 March 26 to October 29
2001 March 25 to October 28
These dates have since been confirmed by the UK Parliament for the UK and Northern Ireland.

Some people advocate that Summer time is kept all year round but this is opposed by other groups on the grounds that in the north this would have social disadvantages including, for instance, the problem that in the far north-west of Scotland sunrise would occur at about 10 am in the middle of winter and over much of the north small children would have to travel to/from school in darkness.

Many countries around the World use Daylight Saving Time; they include the USA, USSR, most of Europe and the Commonwealth.

The main reasons given for the use of Summer Time are the saving in power given by the longer hours of daylight in the evenings and the increased useful daylight leisure time available to those who work.