Thousands are expected to flock to Canterbury Cathedral to help celebrate the Territorial Army’s centenary on Saturday (September 6).

Serving and former TA soldiers and veterans from all volunteer reserves and regular armed forces across the county will be marking the occasion.

Kent’s celebration of TA 100 promises to be one of the biggest nationwide – and the Chief of the General Staff General Sir Richard Dannatt will take the salute.

Led by the band of The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, and with colours and old comrades’ standards flying, detachments from all the county’s TA units and hundreds of veterans and cadets will march through the city centre just before 11am.

The cathedral will be packed for a thanksgiving service paying tribute to the contribution and sacrifice made by Territorials and their comrades over the past century.

The Lord Lieutenant, Allan Willett, the Queen’s representative in the county, whose initiative this was, is appealing to the public to turn out and honour the marchers.

He said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Kent to enjoy the greatest spectacle of its kind for years and at the same time demonstrate their support for all the forces of the Crown – past and present. I hope that many thousands will come along and line the route.

“Showing support for our servicemen and women and their families is not about politics nor whether people are for or against military action – it’s about demonstrating our fellow-feeling for the sons and daughters of Kent who have served and continue to serve the nation so well.”

The Lord Mayor of Canterbury, Cllr Carolyn Parry, will be with the Lord Lieutenant and General Dannatt at the saluting base, and the thanksgiving service will be led by the Dean, the Very Reverend Robert Willis.

Among those attending is Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, of The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, who won the Victoria Cross for valour, saving comrades in Iraq, although himself grievously wounded.

Entry to the Cathedral service is strictly by ticket only. Veterans who wish to join the march and have not already registered should report to the Westgate Hall car park by 9.30am on September 6.