Meet the builder who changed how we keep time

 

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Image caption,

William Willett, who promoted daylight saving, believed if people had more time to enjoy sunshine it would be beneficial for their health and wellbeing

BySteve Ladner, Reporting fromin Chislehurst and Hsin-Yi Lo, South East

Published
28 March 2026

When the clocks change twice a year, we have one person to thank but he did not live to see how he changed the lives of millions around the world.

William Willett (1856-1915) was an Edwardian builder who was a great lover of the outdoors. He was born in Farnham, Surrey, and spent most of his life in Chislehurst, which at the time was part of Kent.

Joanna Friel, chair of the Chislehurst Society, said Willett had built "many beautiful homes" with large bay windows to enable sunlight to enter the properties.

Friel said the concept of daylight saving came to him when he was out riding and noticed many homes had their blinds down despite being a sunny day.

"He said they were wasting the daylight," Friel told Secret Kent.

"He believed if people had more time to enjoy more sunlight it would be beneficial for their health and wellbeing."

Friel said Willett, who was the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, campaigned to parliament to change the clocks and had support from Winston Churchill and former prime minister David Lloyd George.

He wrote pamphlets, Waste of Daylight, which introduced the concept that time should be moved forward by four 20-minute increments during April.

The proposal had gained some traction but it was interrupted by the outbreak of the World War One.

Friel said Willett's idea was accepted during the war, but it was based on necessity during a time of extreme hardship.

"Authorities thought it was a good idea not to use so much coal to generate electricity and reducing the use of candles," Friel said.

"The idea of saving money was probably the reason why daylight saving was accepted."

Willett died in 1915 from influenza and the Summertime Act was passed in 1916.

"It was a legacy of his but sadly he did not live to see it," Friel said.

"Had he lived to see the act being passed, many more people would have known about his contribution."

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