It is 104 years since the tradition of Remembrance was born, when in 1919 the first services were held throughout Britain and the Commonwealth to honour the dead of the First World War.

Now with this year’s Remembrance Day fast approaching, 104 veterans and serving Army personnel have marked the occasion by mapping the iconic image of a First World War “Tommy” at Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone.

British soldiers gained their nickname thanks to 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.

It was in 1919 that the national veterans’ charity Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) was founded to help those returning from the First World War with TB.

Sadly since then, there have been many more wars, and many more veterans needing the charity’s help for an array of reasons.

Some of the RBLI veterans currently living or working at the RBLI village in Aylesford joined men from the 36 Engineer Regiment and from the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers to form a human Tommy.

In a poignant moment, each one held one of RBLI’s Tommy military figures that was engraved with the name of a veteran that RBLI has supported with housing, employment or welfare.

One of RBLI’s veterans who took part was 92-year-old Nigel Bird who served in the Grenadier Guards from 1952 to 1954.

He said: “It was a moving moment as I thought of the last time I was at Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone.

“It was the day I was told that a colleague had been killed and I thought of him as we stood in the Tommy formation.”

Lisa Farmer, RBLI’s chief executive, said: “Remembrance is an incredibly poignant time for the veterans that we have the honour to support at RBLI, and I’d like to thank the personnel at Invicta Park Barracks for supporting RBLI by joining us to form a human Tommy.

“It was an incredible way to mark the birth of Remembrance and the formation of RBLI 104 years ago.”

Tommy silhouettes like those used in the display can be purchased from the RBLI via this link.

Lt Col Ryan Castro, Commanding Officer of 36 Engineer Regiment, said: “It was important for us as a regiment to support RBLI, standing proudly alongside our RBLI’s veterans in the Tommy formation.

“We know the incredible work that RBLI does to help veterans, recognising that one day we too will be veterans.”

Royal British Legion Industries is a separate charity from the Royal British Legion and receives no money from the Poppy Appeal.

It was visited recently by Princess Anne who officially opened its new Centenary Village.

It is based in Aylesford and provides a home to more than 300 veterans and their families.