Veterans are to pay tribute to the 20,000 or so soldiers injured and killed in a battle to seize control of Suez in a major turning point of the Second World War.

They will remember their time fighting against the Nazis at El Alamein, which ended Axis hopes of occupying Egypt, taking control of the Suez Canal and gaining access to Middle Eastern oil fields in 1942.

Council leader Liam Smith will unveil a north African cedar tree with the veterans outside Dagenham Civic Centre in Wood Lane at 3pm on October 23, the 70th anniversary of the battle of El Alamein.