The Royal British Legion Industries will be 105 years old next week.

The charity (originally called Industrial Settlements), based at Aylesford, was founded just after the First World War on September 3, 1919.

From its initial aim of supporting returning servicemen by giving them housing and gainful employment, it has expanded to offering all kinds of services, including training and counselling, to former military personnel and their families.

To celebrate, the RBLI is holding a Tommy Tea Party in its Garden of Honour on Tuesday.

“Tommy” - the affectionate nickname for a British squaddie - dates from a piece of War Office bureaucracy dating from 1815, when the guide to the Soldier’s Account Book and other military forms were filled out with the example name of Tommy Atkins.

The name was solidified in the public’s consciousness when in 1890 Rudyard Kipling wrote a popular poem, Tommy, about the trials and tribulations of Private Tommy Atkins.

Later, Kipling’s own son was to die a Tommy at the Battle of Loos in 1915.

Over the years, the veterans have carried out all sorts of work at the village, from farming to printing, from making toys to manufacturing road signs - which is still a major business today.

The tea party will take place from 11am to 3pm.

The public is invited to join the veterans, volunteers and staff of the RBLI for tea and cakes, and to hear the music provided by five military pipers.

The Garden of Honour can be found off Hall Road, Aylesford, postcode ME20 7NL.