Biggleswade Church c.1910 [Z1306/16/22/1]
Friday
26th May 1916: The novelty of daylight saving time has been
rather more popular in Biggleswade than in Leighton Buzzard. The change
of time went ahead smoothly apart from technical difficulties with one or two public
clocks. The Church Clock, which has been behaving badly ever since it was silenced
by the Zeppelin threat, stopped dead just before 7 a.m., and in the evening
when the bells rang for the six o’clock evening service the clock insisted it
was only five past four. The people of Biggleswade appear to have accepted the
idea of daylight saving with remarkable unanimity. Even the weather showed
enthusiasm for the idea, with Sunday the hottest day since last July 4th. The
cool, fresh evening proved the usefulness of the extra hour of daylight, and
people took advantage of it by staying outdoors and enjoying the fresh air.
Almost everyone seemed to fall in easily with the new time, though inevitably
there were a few amusing mistakes. In one household both husband and wife put
the clock on without realising the other had done so, and in one village the
church clock was advanced the hour on Saturday evening, causing a rush of
customers to the pub anxious for a quick drink before closing time!
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