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FAQ: British Summer Time (BST)...
This weekend the clocks go back 1 hour from BST to GMT. So here I give you everything you ever wanted to know about BST but were afraid to ask.

When will British Summer Time (BST) be in force in 2003?
Sunday 30th March 2003 1am GMT until Sunday 26th October 2003 1am GMT

When was British Summer Time (BST) introduced?
British Summer Time was introduced in the UK in 1916.

When was the UK on permanent Summer Time?
British Summer Time was permanently in force during the Second World War from February 1940 until October 1945 and again from February 1968 until October 1971.

Double summer time was in force from 1941-1947 except for 1946.

What are the date rules for British Summer time (BST)?
The rule for 1981-1994 defined the start of Summer Time as the last Sunday in March and the end as the day following the fourth Saturday in October. The time of change was altered to 1 am (GMT).

When do the clocks in Europe change to Summer Time?
In 1996 all clocks in Europe were changed the same date for the first time.

From 1998 BST was kept from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October. This has been adopted as a directive from the European Parliament and was effective from 1998-2001 inclusive.

In 2002 an order was made to link UK summer time (BST) to Europe permanently. This means that the clocks will change over the Easter weekend which historically has not been the case.

British Summer Time Dates (BST) 1950 - 2006
1950 Sun 16/04/1950 02:00 Sun 29/10/1950 02:00
1951 Sun 15/04/1951 02:00 Sun 21/10/1951 02:00
1952 Sun 20/04/1952 02:00 Sun 26/10/1952 02:00
1953 Sun 19/04/1953 02:00 Sun 04/10/1953 02:00
1954 Sun 11/04/1954 02:00 Sun 03/10/1954 02:00
1955 Sun 17/04/1955 02:00 Sun 02/10/1955 02:00
1956 Sun 22/04/1956 02:00 Sun 07/10/1956 02:00
1957 Sun 14/04/1957 02:00 Sun 06/10/1957 02:00
1958 Sun 20/04/1958 02:00 Sun 05/10/1958 02:00
1959 Sun 12/04/1959 02:00 Sun 04/10/1959 02:00
1960 Tue 19/04/1960 02:00 Sun 02/10/1960 02:00
1961 Sun 26/03/1961 02:00 Sun 29/10/1961 02:00
1962 Sun 25/03/1962 02:00 Sun 28/10/1962 02:00
1963 Sun 31/03/1963 02:00 Sun 27/10/1963 02:00
1964 Sun 22/03/1964 02:00 Sun 25/10/1964 02:00
1965 Sun 21/03/1965 02:00 Sun 24/10/1965 02:00
1966 Sun 20/03/1966 02:00 Sun 23/10/1966 02:00
1967 Sun 19/03/1967 02:00 Sun 29/10/1967 02:00
1968 Sun 18/02/1968 01:00 Tue 31/12/1968 00:00 BST all-year
1969 Wed 01/01/1969 00:00 Wed 31/12/1969 00:00
1970 Thu 01/01/1970 00:00 Thu 31/12/1970 00:00
1971 Fri 01/01/1971 00:00 Sun 31/10/1971 02:00 BST all-year ends
1972 Sun 19/03/1972 02:00 Sun 29/10/1972 02:00
1973 Sun 18/03/1973 02:00 Sun 28/10/1973 02:00
1974 Sun 17/03/1974 02:00 Sun 27/10/1974 02:00
1975 Sun 16/03/1975 02:00 Sun 26/10/1975 02:00
1976 Sun 21/03/1976 02:00 Sun 24/10/1976 02:00
1977 Sun 20/03/1977 02:00 Sun 23/10/1977 02:00
1978 Sun 19/03/1978 02:00 Sun 29/10/1978 02:00
1979 Sun 18/03/1979 02:00 Sun 28/10/1979 02:00
1980 Sun 16/03/1980 02:00 Sun 26/10/1980 02:00
1981 Sun 29/03/1981 01:00 Sun 25/10/1981 01:00 Moves in line with EU
1982 Sun 28/03/1982 01:00 Sun 24/10/1982 01:00
1983 Sun 27/03/1983 01:00 Sun 23/10/1983 01:00
1984 Sun 25/03/1984 01:00 Sun 28/10/1984 01:00
1985 Sun 31/03/1985 01:00 Sun 27/10/1985 01:00
1986 Sun 30/03/1986 01:00 Sun 26/10/1986 01:00
1987 Sun 29/03/1987 01:00 Sun 25/10/1987 01:00
1988 Sun 27/03/1988 01:00 Sun 23/10/1988 01:00
1989 Sun 26/03/1989 01:00 Sun 29/10/1989 01:00
1990 Sun 25/03/1990 01:00 Sun 28/10/1990 01:00
1991 Sun 31/03/1991 01:00 Sun 27/10/1991 01:00
1992 Sun 29/03/1992 01:00 Sun 25/10/1992 01:00
1993 Sun 28/03/1993 01:00 Sun 24/10/1993 01:00
1994 Sun 27/03/1994 01:00 Sun 23/10/1994 01:00
1995 Sun 26/03/1995 01:00 Sun 22/10/1995 01:00
1996 Sun 31/03/1996 01:00 Sun 27/10/1996 01:00
1997 Sun 30/03/1997 01:00 Sun 26/10/1997 01:00
1998 Sun 29/03/1998 01:00 Sun 25/10/1998 01:00
1999 Sun 28/03/1999 01:00 Sun 31/10/1999 01:00
2000 Sun 26/03/2000 01:00 Sun 29/10/2000 01:00
2001 Sun 25/03/2001 01:00 Sun 28/10/2001 01:00
2002 Sun 31/03/2002 01:00 Sun 27/10/2002 01:00
2003 Sun 30/03/2003 01:00 Sun 26/10/2003 01:00
2004 Sun 28/03/2004 01:00 Sun 31/10/2004 01:00
2005 Sun 27/03/2005 01:00 Sun 30/10/2005 01:00
2006 Sun 26/03/2006 01:00 Sun 29/10/2006 01:00