When do the clocks go back, and what's the Coldplay connection?

When do the clocks go back?

Clocks go back one hour on Sunday 26 October at 2am, marking the annual move from British Summer Time (BST) back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

It’s a very old tradition, dating back to 1916, but over the years, and especially in recent times on social media, there have been numerous myths and rumours surrounding the reasons why.

Does it mean darker mornings? Is it only done in the UK? And what on earth does it have to do with Coldplay’s Chris Martin?

It actually does the opposite! When the clocks go back we gain an ‘extra hour’, which maximises the amount of daylight we get, giving us brighter mornings. But this also means shorter days and earlier sunsets.

Around 70 countries across the world change their clocks, mainly in Europe, most of North America, parts of South America and Australasia, all 27 EU countries, and the USA (though not in Hawaii and most of Arizona).

In the UK, the first serious proposal about Daylight Saving Time came in 1907 from builder William Willett… who also happens to be the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin!

While this is a widely spread idea about the reason for the clocks changing, it’s actually false.

William Willett put forward the suggestion of moving the clocks forward during summertime (before being returned to normal in the winter) as a way to avoid the waste of additional daylight in the evenings.

Daylight Savings Time was introduced in 1916, to give people who do most of their work outside as much sunlight as possible to work in.

The act was passed in British parliament (shortly after being passed in Germany) during World War One, as a way to conserve energy by taking advantage of the increased daylight.

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