One of the biggest military parades on Sheppey in 50 years is expected this Sunday when the new war memorial wall at Sheerness has its official dedication ceremony.

The date also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the existing war memorial in Bridge Road which has been cleaned specially for the occasion.

Peter MacDonald, 81,who has pushed the 'missing names' project along, said: "It should be fabulous. We haven't had anything like this for 51 years."

Representatives from the Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Royal Marines are expected to attend along with cadets. Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent Paul Auston will place a wreath on behalf of the Queen at 10.45am.

Cllr MacDonald, a member of Sheerness Town Council and Swale council, said: "It has been 12 years in the making. It started when Sidney Pepper wrote to his local paper, the Sheerness Times Guardian, complaining that not everyone from Sheppey who died in the two world wars had their names on the memorial."

Cllr MacDonald and his late wife Loreley set about piecing the names together.

Cllr MacDonald, from Chequers Road, Minster, admitted: "We thought we'd only have enough names for a few extra plaques. Instead, we ended up with 988. Taken with the names already on the war memorial, we now have 1,335. That's an awful lot for a little island like Sheppey."

Roads around the memorial will be closed from 10am to noon by the Sheppey EMUs, the event marshalling unit. The Rev Colin Johnson, padre to the Royal British Legion, will lead the service.

Afterwards the parade, led by Sheppey's St John Ambulance band, will march along the High Street and Broadway and into Royal Road where it will disband.

The 10m-long wall, which stands 2m high, has cost £126,000. It is made from 30 tonnes of engraved blocks of Portland Stone. The name of Danny Holkham from Eastchurch who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 is included.

Sheerness Town Council paid to have the area around the existing war memorial re-paved and levelled so it can be used by those in wheelchairs. Other money has come from Swale council, Queenborough Town Council, Queenborough Fisheries Trust and Peel Ports.

Cllr MacDonald said: “It is something of real quality for the Island. Sheppey needs an uplift.”