In order to keep time accurately, we have always had to set our clocks by the ticks of a better one. Until the 1950s, the best were those set by astronomers based on the position of the sun in the sky. Back then, the most reliable clock was the one at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
In 1847 the railways agreed to use GMT across the entire network. Therefore, the distribution of Greenwich Mean Time via telegraph signals became absolutely crucial. But not everyone could connect or bring their clocks to the observatory to set them, though – and that is where Ruth Belville, the “Greenwich Time Lady”, came in. Every day, come rain or shine, she would take her stopwatch to the Royal Observatory, then travel all over London so her clients could synchronise their timepieces with hers.
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