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]