Tyldesley Town Hall at which Rowson served 1919-1925

Guy Rowson (1883 - 16 November 1937)[1] was a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Farnworth in Lancashire. He was elected in 1929, defeated in 1931,[2] and re-elected in 1935, until his death in 1937.[3] He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Labour leader of the opposition, Clement Attlee.[4] In 1936, he was responsible for the introduction of the Annual Holiday Bill,[5] which regulated holiday pay for workers.

Mining

Rowson became a coal miner at age 12.[6] In 1923, he became a Miners' Agent in the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation.[2]

Other activities

In 1907 he joined the Social Democratic Federation, and in 1910 he stood as a Socialist for the Tyldesley Urban District Council.[6] where he was defeated, but elected in 1919, where he served until 1925.[7]

Quotes

In his memoires, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee wrote:

"I appointed a Lancashire miner, Guy Rowson, as my Parliamentary Private Secretary, but his early death cut short a promising career."[8]

Personal

Born in 1883 in Ellenbrook, near Worsley in Lancashire, he was the son of a coal miner, Joseph Rowson [9][10] and his wife Mary.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Rowson, G.", The Constitutional year book, Volume 1932, Publisher: Harvester Press, 1931. (page 208)
  2. ^ a b Charles Roger Dod, Robert Phipps Dod, Dod's parliamentary companion, Publisher Dod's Parliamentary Companion, ltd., 1936. (page 423)
  3. ^ "Mr Guy Rowson", theyworkforyou.com
  4. ^ "Death of Mr Guy Rowson", The Glasgow Herald, 17 Nov 1937
  5. ^ Pimlott, John Alfred Ralph; The Englishman's holiday: a social history, Harvester Press, 1 Jan 1976, ISBN 978-0-85527-229-6 (University of Michigan reprint)
  6. ^ a b "Obituary, The Colliery Guardian, 19 Nov 1937, Page 976, Column 2
  7. ^ "Mr. Guy Rowson, M.P.", The Times (London), Wednesday, 17 Nov 1937, page 10, issue 47844.
  8. ^ Clement Richard Attlee, As it happened, Publisher W. Heinemann, 1954, 312 pages (page 117)
  9. ^ Michael Stenton, Stephen Lees, Who's who of British members of Parliament: a biographical dictionary of the House of Commons based on annual volumes of Dod's Parliamentary companion and other sources, Volume 3, Publisher Harvester Press, 1979, ISBN 0-391-00768-8, ISBN 978-0-391-00768-0, 413 pages (page 309)
  10. ^ "England and Wales Census, 1881 for Joseph Rowson" @ familysearch.org
  11. ^ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 for Guy Rowson" at familysearch.org
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byThomas Greenall Member of Parliament for Farnworth 1929 – 1931 Succeeded byJames Stones Preceded byJames Stones Member of Parliament for Farnworth 1935 – 1937 Succeeded byGeorge Tomlinson
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