Today sees the 100th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

The start of the offensive in northern France has become known as the blackest day in Britain’s military history.

Within minutes of leaving the trenches, the dead and wounded piled up as men were mown down by German machine gun and rifle fire.

Commemoration services have been taking place across Kent this morning, including one at the War Memorial in Tenterden.

By the end of July 1, 1916, the casualty list totalled almost 60,000 – 19,240 dead and some 40,000 wounded.

About 1,000 men from Kent perished in the battle.

The Tenterden commemoration was held at 7.30am, the same time as the first waves of British soldiers went 'over the top' from their trenches to be greeted by a hail of German machine gun fire that slaughtered them in their thousands.

The event also featured the blowing of whistles which in the Somme were the signal for soldiers to move forward.