125 years on: Wreath laid to commemorate the lives lost during the Battle of Spion Kop

Members of 5 Rifles have laid a poppy wreath at the memorial dedicated to their forebears who died at one of the bloodiest battles fought by British soldiers during the Boer War in South Africa.

Today marks the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Spion Kop which was fought on 23 and 24 January 1900 and resulted in 243 being killed and around 1,250 wounded.

The battleground, which lies some 365km south-east of Johannesburg, resulted in a Boer victory against the British.

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The British attempted to force the Boer line on the River Tugela in order to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith.

It is said that the area was shrouded in mist and meant the British failed to realise the area they had occupied was insufficient to defend the summit and that their position was overlooked by higher features.

The following morning, the British forces came under intense artillery and rifle fire which resulted in the soldiers having to tactically withdraw.

According to the National Army Museum, three notable figures of the 20th century were present at the battle: Boer commander Louis Botha, who would later become Prime Minister of South Africa, a young Winston Churchill, who, as a war correspondent, took an active role, and Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma). In 1906, Liverpool FC opened a new stand, which quickly became known as The Kop and it is believed that the name was inspired by the local men who fought at Spion Kop, with the steep slope of the stand resembling the hillside of the battle.