"The Nine Days", by A.J. Cook
Arthur James Cook (Wookey, Somerset, 1883 - London, 1931) was the General Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain from 1924 until 1931. This included the period of the 1926 General Strike and the prolonged, six-month miners' lockout that followed the sell-out of the May events by the TUC leaders.
Arguably one of the greatest-ever trade union leaders, Cook stayed loyal to his members throughout his tenure as leader of the miners' union.
The highest tribute to him came from John Williams, deputy chief constable of Glamorgan, who had been following him about like a sniffer dog. 'Cook,' Williams declared in one of his frequent letters to the Home Office, 'is an agitator of the worst type and has been the cause of the major portion of labour unrest in this district since 1913.'
- An Agitator of the Worst Type, by Paul Foot (January 1986)
In 1927, less than a year after the General Strike, he wrote an essential, must-read document about the momentous events of May 1926.
Called The Nine Days, Cook highlights - first hand- the connivance, backstabbing, cowardice and betrayals of the right-wing officials in the TUC, who consciously sold out the General Strike and traitorously paved the way for a carnival of reaction against the trade union movement, workers, their families and communities.