About Fred Bramley
Lived 1874 – 1925 (aged 50–51). Fred Bramley was a trade unionist, politician and union member.
Fred Bramley (27 September 1874 – 10 October 1925) was the second General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Born in Pool near Otley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Bramley completed an apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker, then became active in the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Association and a member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). During the 1890s, he was involved with the Clarion van movement, and also with the Bradford Trades Council.
Bramley moved to London around the turn of the century, and through his membership of the ILP, was adopted as the candidate of the "Aberdeen Labour Representation Committee" in the 1907 Aberdeen South by-election. In 1912 he became the national organiser of his union, which following a merger was known as the National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association. In this role, he supported workers involved in a larger number of lock-outs and strikes. He opposed British involvement in World War I, and from 1916 to 1919 he served as chairman of the London Labour Party. In 1923 became general secretary of the TUC, although he achieved little in the role due to poor health. He joined its delegation to the Soviet Union in 1924 and died, while attending an International Federation of Trade Unions meeting, in Amsterdam in 1925.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Fred Bramley's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Fred Bramley?
British trade unionist (1874–1925)
When was Fred Bramley born?
Fred Bramley was born in 1874 in Otley.
When did Fred Bramley die?
Fred Bramley died on 10 October 1925.
What was Fred Bramley's occupation?
Fred Bramley was a trade unionist, politician and union member.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Fred Bramley. https://biography.guide/fred-bramley/
MLA: "Fred Bramley." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/fred-bramley/.
Chicago: "Fred Bramley." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/fred-bramley/.
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