I'm fascinated by how military history shapes language in ways we don't spot. Mostly navy in the UK but army too.

E.g.

Stop and ask yourself: why do so many British football clubs have a Kop end?

Let's talk Boer War battles, Jack the Ripper, Gandhi, Churchill and football /1

Let's start where this begins. January 1900. Second Boer War in South Africa.

Britain is fighting the Orange Free State and Transvaal. It's all very 'late Empire'. Grim. Bloody. Atrocities on both sides. "It'll be over by Christmas". Weapons making old tactics outdated. etc.

In fact, one reason the whole "lions led by donkeys"/Blackadder image of WW1 is wrong about THAT conflict is because the army learns from the Boer Wars, which ARE like that.

Lots of bad British generals doing generally bad things, while junior commanders try to save the day.

And one of the best examples of that is the Battle of Spion Kop. This happens as the British attempt to relieve the siege of Ladysmith by (effectively) punching through the centre of the Boer Line at the Tugela River.

Look. It seemed a good idea at the time. This was the problem

Not going to go into full battle detail. Not the point of this thread. But the battle itself IS fascinating. It is a bloody disaster punctuated by EXTREME bravery on both sides. If you love history, or want to understand how 20th century strategy and tactics evolved, it's for you

For the FULL Spion Kop story, I'll point you towards the person that got me thinking about this today:

Dr Spencer Jones ( @historian1914) is doing an EXCELLENT virtual battlefield tour of Spion Kop this weekend

I've watched the dress rehearsal. It's ace.

https://battleguide.co.uk/product/spionkop/

The short version though is that the British attack Spion Kop, which anchors the Boer Line, at night. They think they take the summit.

But they don't.

They take the LOWER summit.

And thus a desperate battle against the Boers, who still hold the higher ground ensues.

Eventually, despite extreme bravery by men and officers on the scene, the British are forced to retreat. Tragically (from their P.O.V) not knowing that the Boers are in the middle of doing the same thing.

This is a good example of a key British problem: command indecision.

One of those senior officers who doesn't cover himself in glory is Sir Charles Warren, in command overall. His lack of decisiveness and clarity hinders his officers.

Which would have sounded familiar to Londoners. He'd been the head of the Met Police during the Ripper murders.

So why does all this matter?

Well, the Boer War is the first colonial war that REALLY gets massive coverage back home in England. Because papers (and CAMERAS) are EVERYWHERE by now and the government hasn't quite worked out how to do that military censorship thing properly yet.

No journalist captures the problems this creates for them better than young Winston Churchill, whose not-always-entirely-accurate dispatches from the Boer War have captured the public imagination somewhat.

And young Winston is at Spion Kop. He even gets roped in as a runner.

BRIEF ASIDE:

The OTHER person who is there is Gandhi, who is serving as an Ambulanceman at the time and participates in the battle as such.

Churchill has a weird habit of overlapping militarily with other key people from his life. Attlee leads the vanguard at Gallipoli.

ANYWAY, the awful cramped fighting at Spion Kop, lack of censorship and the growth of the press means 'Kop' evokes an image for people of a steep hill crammed full of men.

That's how the GREATEST football club in England ends up getting the first Kop End in 1904

@Arsenal

It is Arsenal, NOT Liverpool, who have the first 'Kop'. And it really does come about as a nickname given, by fans, to their new stand simply because that whole image of what a Kop represents has become locked in the national consciousness now.

Given Arsenal's origins (Woolwich) and close connection with the military it's not THAT surprising that this is where the Kop thing starts.

A few years later, they answer North London's pleas to have a decent football team and shift north of the river, leaving their Kop behind.

But by that point, Spion Kop or Kop has now just become standard football slang for a heavily-banked stand that's popular (i.e. normally full) of the most passionate fans.

Hence why, in 1906, the Liverpool Echo naturally christens @LFC's newest stand with this name.

That gets formalised in 1928 and thanks to Bill Shankly's recognition and romanticisation of the Kop End, THAT'S what people think of if you refer to 'The Kop' today.

It's Football. And it's Liverpool.

But there are LOADS of them. That's how pervasive Spion Kop's influence was

To the point where (and again, this is what I find FASCINATING) Kop is now like 'square meal' or 'Dutch courage' or 'true colours'. It's a phrase that has entered our language, and football in particular, but which is entirely detached from its military origin.

Which is why you'll find 'Kops' at Strasbourg, and at PSG and (which tickles me) at De Graafschap in the Netherlands.

This mostly forgotten (but important) Boer War battle has, indirectly, given its name to little bits of countries throughout Europe and beyond.

But, fittingly, it has also triggered an act of shared remembrance.

Every year on the anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster, South African Liverpool fans visit the battle site to remember those who died there, and in the tragedy.

The victims of both will never walk alone.

Anyway, apols again for not talking battle specifics, but honestly: @historian1914 is 100% your man for this.

Spion Kop is an incredible battle. There's a REASON it hits hard culturally. If history is your thing, sign up for his tour with @BattleguideVT: https://battleguide.co.uk/product/spionkop/

(Full disclosure: I'm working on some tour stuff with @BattleguideVT myself, which is why I was watching the Spion Kop stuff and started thinking about this)