Events are set to be held throughout autumn to commemorate the number of Medway lives lost during the First World War.

Backed by Medway Council, the Soldiers on the Streets project will help people to discover details about those who went to fight in the Great War from their own street, using the De Caville index - a register of the First World War soldiers of Medway started by ex soldier and historian Mick De Caville.

The Heritage Lottery-funded project will involve a range of events and stands at the centre of Medway’s events, but is not the only initiative. “The Lost Helmet” project will involve a replica helmet and cap being passed through the hands of hundreds of residents, each representing a life lost.

Pictures are being taken of people wearing the helmet, which will then be displayed at the Medway Archives Centre.

At the Guildhall Museum, poppies designed by young people and families will be hung on the staircase in memory of the 1,400 Medway men who lost their lives in one hour, when three Royal Navy cruisers, Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue were torpedoed in the North Sea on September 22 1914.

A special talk on the impact of the war on women in Britain will be given by Delia Taylor on Wednesday October 31, at 2.30pm at Strood Community Hall; and author Elizabeth Speller will discuss her novel, At Break of Day - which is the story of four men who are together at daybreak on July 1 1916 during the Battle of the Somme - on Tuesday September 11, 7.30pm to 9pm at Strood Library.

An arts project - dubbed Cut, Fold, Create – Medway Remembers 1918 - will involve various workshops and see the creation of paper commemorations, which will be on display throughout the Towns until December.

Untold Stories: A Celebration of Black People in Kent, is an exhibition celebrating the black people of Kent over the centuries, including Walter Tull, the British Army’s first black officer to command white troops, who died during WWI; and will run from October 5 to December 2 at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.

Another exhibition, “Men of the Medway Towns. The Ultimate Sacrifice 1918 - 1919” will run until December 1 at the Medway Archives Centre, highlighting the men who gave their lives during the war.