.theguardian - 1 days ago

Julian Harber on William Willett, who came up with the idea of changing the clocks. Plus a letter from Jennifer Gale on seasonal affective disorderEvery year when the clocks moved forward, my father used to tell my brothers and I that we owed this to a relative, William Willett, who came up with the idea of “daylight saving” (Looking forward to an extra hour in bed on Sunday? Time to thank a farsighted builder from Kent, 25 October). Willett’s mother, Maria (née Box), was an older sister of my paternal great-grandmother, the splendidly named Affability – both being among the many children of a Southwark waterman. There is a memorial to Willett in Petts Wood, London, with a sundial permanently set to British summer time.
Julian Harber
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire• Paul Highfield (Letters, 26 October) should be aware that, like unhappy families, every seasonal affective disorder sufferer is sad in their own way. This one hates dark mornings with a vengeance – so much so that I have logged the sunrise/sunset times around the solstices and equinoxes for many years. Continue reading...

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