Thousands of people across Kent are taking part in ceremonies to mark Remembrance Sunday.

In Sheerness, organisations and members of the public are gathering around the war memorial in Bridge Road.

It will be the first year that the service is held front of a brand new wall of white Portland stone which now features the names of all those from the Isle of Sheppey who have died as a result of wars.

It was the brainchild of councillor Peter MacDonald, 82, and his late wife Loreley who tirelessly researched all the names in association with the Sheppey War Memorial Trust.

Its dedication in April coincided with the 100th anniversary of the existing cenotaph which was cleaned specially for the occasion.

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, 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."

The 10m-long wall, which stands 2m high, 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.

Cadets, Cubs, Scouts and Beavers gathered in the car park at Beachfields at 10.15am for today's service. The parade to the cenotaph left at 10.40am ready for the two minutes silence at 11am with Royal British Legion padre the Rev Colin Johnson followed by a service at Holy Trinity Church.

Other services took place at Queenborough and Leysdown.

The Mayor of Swale Cllr Simon Clark attended a service in Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, with Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson. It began in St Michael's church at 10am led by the Rev David Ridley. The cenotaph service is being taken by Royal British Legion chaplain Pat Tatchell.

Cllr Clark was present to lay a wreath on behalf of the council at a service on Friday, Armistice Day, in the Sheppey Cemetery at Halfway, to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the First World War ended.

Bikers from the Band of Brothers will take part in a Remembrance Ride to Eastchurch starting at the Detling Diner on the A249 at 9am.

Swale council car parks are all free today to make it easier to drive to services. A number of roads have been closed across the county as parades happened today.

Arriva is offering free bus travel to past and present members of the Armed Forces on its services throughout the regions today.Serving personnel (both regular and reservists), veterans and cadets were allowed free travel all day on production of identification.

Maidstone marked Remembrance Sunday with a parade and a service the Memorial in The Broadway followed by the laying of wreaths.

Mayor Cllr Derek Mortimer was joined by Lt Col Mark Hendry, the Commanding Officer of 36 Engineer Regiment and the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers to take the salute.

This was the first time King Charles led the nation in marking Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph as monarch. Some families from Kent took part in the ceremony and march-past or were in the crowd.

The UK observed the two-minute silence at 11am to pay respects to the war dead as the chimes of Big Ben, which has been silent during recent renovations, tolled in central London.