The Mahatma, Liverpool FC and a hill in South Africa

On planning our social media, we noted that this weekend was the anniversary of Spion Kop. Not a battle I knew much about although I was aware of the Border Regiment involvement in South Africa, so was no surprise when on further investigation of our image files some photographs were located labelled 'Spion Kop.'  Of course I had heard of 'Spion Kop' or 'The Kop', and it's connection with Liverpool FC's ground at Anfield, but knew little about the battle. Time for a bit of research.

To be fair, I had a little bit of knowledge about this period of history but it was all fragmented and disjointed. I was knew of the concentration camps, had heard of Mafeking and Lord Baden Powell, and, of course, Queen Victoria's Christmas box sent out to the troops. Maybe not that much of an awareness so time I found out some more. I volunteered to write the social media post and read up about Spion Kop to find out a bit more.

What I found out was the battle was a series of poor decisions and blunders. The British wanted to secure the Kop (hill) but with little awareness of the area ascended the hill under the cover of darkness and a thick mist. A rocky landscape made it difficult to dig trenches and the mist had masked their poor location, they were not at the top of the hill as they had first thought. When the mist lifted in the morning, the British realised how vulnerable they actually were. The Boers targetted their rifle fire at their enemy, who had little cover or protection. Not only were many British soldiers killed but the remaining force was pinned down with little protection in the heat of the South African sun. How many Liverpool fans are aware of this as they support their team from the terraces?

But what I also found interesting was there were Indian stretcher bearers supporting the British and transporting the wounded. One of these bearers was Mahatma Gandhi, a young Indian lawyer, who became a leader in the Indian Independence movement helping those during the battle who he would later campaign to be removed from his homeland - the British. Someone who would in the future become a well-known world figure who at Spion Kop in January 1900 was helping the injured on the battlefield. Isn't history fascinating.