More than 300 TA soldiers, Royal Naval reservists, military bandsmen, veterans and cadets assembled on Gateshead's Millennium Bridge for Saturday's event to mark the official formation of the first TA units on 1 April 1908.

Civic leaders also joined the troops in a short ceremony on the bridge, which featured prayers, music and a message from the Queen.

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Peter Arnold, and the Mayor of Gateshead, David Lynn, met at the centre of the bridge in a symbolic joining of both banks of the Tyne.

They were accompanied by Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear, Nigel Sherlock, who presented TA soldier Captain Mick Sim with his Operational Service medal.

Cpt Sim, 41, a college lecturer from Cramlington, Northumberland, was one of 2,500 TA soldiers from Yorkshire and the North East who have served in the Gulf and the Balkans since 2003.

He recently returned from a six-month tour in Afghanistan, where he developed an equipment support infrastructure and conducted equipment care inspections.

Cpt Sim, from the 168 Pioneer Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, said: "I was extremely pleased and proud to have my service medal presented on such a special day, and be part of the centenary celebrations."

A series of musical entertainment was provided throughout the ceremony, beginning with military piper Sergeant Gary Dodds, who played on the bow of HMS Example as the bridge swung open to allow the ship to sail down the river.

This was followed by a selection of music played by the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers band and conducted by their musical director, Captain Kevin Crook, from the prow of HMS Example.

During the event, military piper Sergeant Arthur Middleton, a long-serving member of the TA, also played his specially composed Tyneside Terriers Centenary March for the first time on the Quayside.

The TA was used in both the First and Second World Wars and in the conflicts in the Gulf and the Balkans.

A series of events will be held throughout the year to mark the 100th anniversary, culminating in November on Remembrance Sunday.