An annual memorial service was held to remember army hero Major General Charles Gordon.

People gathered around his statue in the Gordon Memorial Garden, Gravesend, to pay their respects and remember his legacy this morning.

It finished with a blessing and inspection of the guard by the mayor of Gravesham, Cllr Peter Scollard.

Commemorative services like this have been held at his statue around the time of his death – January 26, 1885 – and continue every year to remember his contribution to the town.

Gordon – nicknamed Chinese Gordon for his exploits on the battlefield in China – was based in Gravesend for five years in the 1860s.

He was stationed at Fort House tasked with strengthening the defences of the capital but it was his strong evangelical outlook and desire to help the poor that he is celebrated for in Gravesend.

The town's Gordon Gardens is named after him and he lived in the nearby New Tavern Fort from 1865 to 1871.

His overwhelming generosity and dedication to helping the young poor in Gravesend earn an education was his ultimate legacy.

Read more: The soldier whose exploits in China earned him celebrity status.

He worked at the Gravesend Ragged School and set up schools at Fort House and East Terrace as well as teaching at St Andrew’s mission, now St Andrew’s Church, in Royal Pier Road.

Gordon also donated part of his salary to help fund the institutions and often donated food, tea and tobacco to people in the workhouses.