 IN THE summer of 1906, Liverpool were celebrating their second league championship. Crowds at Anfield were onthe up and the directors - led by chairman John Houlding and secretary John McKenna - decided that the fans deserved a better home. Work on reconstructing Anfield began in May. Designed by architect Archibald Leitch and erected by EF Blakeley and Company of Vauxhall Iron-works, numerous improvements were carried out including a new brick and cinder banking at the Walton Breck Road end of the ground. The new terrace created space for 25,000 fans to take the overall capacity to 60,000. It was completed in time for the start of the new campaign on Saturday, September 1 1906, when Liverpool entertained Stoke City. A heatwave had struck the nation and all over the country games were halted as players collapsed. But the Reds' clash went ahead and over 30,000 turned up to see Joe Hewitt get the hosts off to a flying start. Thoughts soon turned to naming the new terrace. The Walton Breck Bank and the Oakfield Road Embankment had been mentioned but then Liverpool ECHO sports editor Ernest Edwards came up with the idea of calling it Spion Kop. Spioenkop was the small hill in the South African province of Natal where a bloody battle had taken place in the Boer War on January 24 1900. The battle of Spioenkop had ended in defeat for the British, with a huge loss of life, especially among the Lancashire regiments which included many Liverpudlians. Edwards' idea was seen as the perfect memorial and before the end of the season the name Spion Kop had taken on a new meaning. For the next 20 years the Kop remained largely unchanged. The mound - the cheapest area of the ground to watch from - offered spectacular views across Stanley Park but being open to the elements meant it could be amiserableplace from which to watch the action. The board addressed the problem in 1928. The Kop was rebuilt and given a roof to shelter some 27,000 fans. At 425 feet wide and 80 feet high it was the largest covered terrace in the country.
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