years old. On learning of his election, Trades Union Congress general secretary Fred Bramley exploded in outrage against Cook's election, claiming him to be a "raving Communist". Regardless, he was General Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain from 1924 until 1931, a period that included the 1926 General Strike, about which he wrote the pamphlet "The Nine Days". This led to his becoming closely associated with the slogan, "Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day". He was also elected as secretary of the International Miners' Federation. Although a member of the Independent Labour Party, Cook worked closely with the Communist Party after its formation in 1920 and the National Minority Movement from 1924 to 1929. Arthur Horner, a leading South Wales Communist and mining militant described Cook's tenure as General Secretary as "a time for new ideas — an agitator, a man with a sense of adventure". Death Cook died of cancer in 1931, aged 47. Footnotes Works "A.J. Cook Tells His Own Story," Tit-Bits, April and May 1926. The Nine Days (1927) External links The tragedy of A.J. Cook by Tony Cliff, International Socialism, 31 (1986). 1883 births 1931 deaths People from Mendip District General Secretaries of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Welsh syndicalists Presidents of the Trades Union Congress