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Frank Reed wrote, in the thread "Indiana adopts Daylight Saving Time!"-

>As I understand it, in the UK during the Second World War, they adopted
>GMT+1 year-round and GMT+2 during the summer months. Apparently, this was
>called
>"Double Summer Time".

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Reply from George-

Not quite, as I remember it, though I was only a kid at the time.

The UK, during the second world war, and for a short while after, kept to
GMT in the Winter months (exactly as at present), but shifted to GMT+1 at
some date in the Spring (as we do now). This was called, not "Daylight
Saving Time", but "Summer Time"; an ambiguous expression having other
meanings. Then, as High Summer approached, the days getting longer still, a
second step was made, to GMT+2, which was called "Double Summer Time". And
then these steps were reversed in the Autumn.

Britain, being in the fifties of latitude, corresponding to, say, the
Southern half of Hudson Bay, enjoys long daylight in midsummer, though it
has to be paid for in the Winter months.

The idea, in the war, was that there would be no need for use of electric
power for artificial lighting in people's homes, and they would go to bed
as it got dark. There was, of course, no street lighting anyway, because of
the strict blackout to protect against bombers.

In those days, there was a strictly-enforced closing time for pubs of 10
pm, and pub-goers certainly resented being chucked out when it was still
broad daylight outside. I remember well being packed off to bed when
several hours of daylight remained, and reading until it got too dark.

Presently, France, Spain, and Portugal use GMT +1 in Winter, and GMT +2 in
Summer, even though large areas are well West of Greenwich. In rural France
(unlike Paris, with its night-life image) they don't seem to stay up late,
and in Brittany, for example, villages in the late evening appear quite
deserted, cafes and restaurants having closed although daylight remains.
The same applies to Portugal, even further West, where the displacement
between the Sun and the clock can approach 3 hours. Spain is a bit
different: the midday siesta way-of-life implies that Spaniards don't even
emerge for the evening until darkness falls, no matter how late that may
be, then stay up for much of the night. Or so it seems to me.

Some 30-odd years ago, an experiment was tried in Britain of sticking with
GMT+1 through one Winter, rather than returning the clocks to GMT. The
result was that children were travelling to school in pitch darkness, and
many accidents occurred. It was most unpopular, and wasn't repeated.

George.

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