Reds in South Africa are encouraged to meet up with Supporters Club Members who will be traveling to Spion Kop for our 4th Annual Hillsborough Memorial Service.
Attendees are encouraged to drive to Spion Kop Lodge and be there at around 12h30. Lunch will be served (on the club's account) at about 13h30 from then on proceedings will begin.
You are ALL encouraged to join. For more information, please do not hesitate to email me back.
Directions to Spion Kop Lodge are:
GPS Co-ordinates
28 DEGREES 42.325 S
29 DEGREES 31.833 E
From Ladysmith:
Take the N11 towards Colenso ,then approx. 4 km from Ladysmith ,you will
find a right turn onto the N11 to Bergville,N3 and Central Berg.
Approx10km on this road you will find a left turn off, the R600.
Take it and travel for 19 km ,cross the Tugela River go up the hill and on
the crest of the hill you will find the turn off to Spion Kop Lodge,go
through the white gates drive along our drive for 1.5 kmand you have
arrived.
From Durban: (two and a half hours.)
Take the N 3 to Johannesburg , Approx. 6 km.after the Ultra -City Garage
near Estcourt ,take the Bergville off-ramp on the left .
At the top of the off-ramp go left to Bergville /Winterton . 22km. Travel
through Winterton and about 1km after the town ,take the R600 road to the
right . indicating Spion Kop Lodge /Spioenkop Dam / Ladysmith .
The Lodge is about 16 km on the R 600 just after the dam turn-off on the
right hand side.
From Johannesburg: (three and a half hours )
Take the N3 to Durban.Go through the Tugela Plaza (at the bottom of Van
Reenen's Pass ) Approx. 12 km there is an off-ramp to Bergville on the
left. Take it .
At the top of the ramp TAKE THE LEFT TOWARDS LADYSMITH. (not Bergville.)
About 7 Km.along this road is the R 600.to the right .
Spion Kop Lodge / SpionKop Dam . Travel for about 19 km and we are on the
left hand -side ,enter the two white walls.
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news...eds-to-hold-memorialOn April 15, 2010 the Gauteng branch of the South African Liverpool FC Supporters Club will hold their fourth annual memorial commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Hillsborough Tragedy.
The memorial will be held on top of the Spion Kop, Kwazulu Natal.
Spion Kop is the site where, in 1900, one of the bloodiest battles of the Boer War took place, in which over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment lost their lives - many of whom were from the city of Liverpool.
Subsequently, the owners of Liverpool Football Club erected a massive cinder bank on the Walton Breck Road in 1904, which would be christened the 'Spion Kop' in 1906 by Ernest Edwards, then sports editor of the Liverpool Echo.
The association between the hill in South Africa and its namesake on Merseyside made it the perfect site for the South African supporters to remember the tragic events of Hillsborough, and to conduct a memorial in remembrance of the 96 taken so cruelly from us.
In 2008 the supporters club unveiled a permanent memorial, housed on the Spion Kop Lodge, and positioned where it overlooks the Spion Kop itself.
The memorial takes the form of a bench framed by the two memorial flames, with the seat made up of 96 individual slats. The back rest bears the words: 'In Memoriam - Hillsborough 15th of April 1989' and is flanked by two Liver birds.
This is an open invitation to all Reds in South Africa to join the supporters club on April 15 in remembrance of our brethren so tragically taken on that day. Enquiries can be made at anfield.express@gmail.com or supportersclub@liverpoolfc.co.za.
PROPOSED PROGRAM OF EVENTS (after Lunch):
14.25: Welcome by Elli Lechtman, chairman of the Liverpool Supporters Club - Gauteng Branch
14.30: Re-dedication of the permanent memorial at Spion Kop Lodge. Guy Prowse will explain the significance behind the memorial, the link between Spion Kop and Anfield, and why, after 20 years, we still talk about 'Justice for the 96'.
15.00: Depart in convoy for Spion Kop.
15.35: What occurred at Hillsborough and why? Dave Walters explains the events that concluded in the Hillsborough tragedy.
15.50: A poem dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Hillsborough Tragedy will be read.
15.52: Guy Prowse will start the reading out aloud of each of the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy. Everyone present will then individually read out the names and age of the victims in turn. This is the time when Gate C was ordered open by the authorities.
15.55: 'The Fields of Anfield Road', sung by all.
16.00: The blast on a referee's whistle marks the start of six minutes of silence. The whistle indicates the time in England that the match kicked off.
16.06: The referee's whistle brings to an end the period of silence. It is at 15.06 (UK time) that referee Ray Lewis stopped the game and the full extent of the disaster began to unfold. The singing of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' will start immediately after the whistle.
16.10: The memorial concludes.
Lunch will be served earlier in the day.
