The proposal, backed by the Petersfield Post, was put forward by Petersfield resident Andy Millar earlier this month and has been gathering momentum since then.

Clive Lewis, chairman of the Royal British Legion's Petersfield Association, said: "Everyone was strongly in favour and thought it was a brilliant idea. "When you consider Petersfield, it is in a part of the county between Bordon's army camp, RAF Odiham and Portsmouth – it is an excellent tri-service location."

The former naval officer added: "Any vessel that is given the freedom of a city or a town wears that with pride and they maintain close links with that place."

Andy Millar, who originally floated the idea at Petersfield Town Council's annual meeting, was pleased with the positive reaction to the scheme.

"There's some momentum behind it," he said. "I was absolutely delighted with the way the Post handled the story originally.

"Since then two of my friends who have family serving in Afghanistan have told me they have e-mailed the story to them and they are delighted.

"People have stopped me in the street and said thank you for the idea. We have to recognise these people's gallantry." Town mayor Paul Molloy has set the ball rolling and been in contact with the Ministry of Defence.

"As it is a town issue it will be put before Petersfield Town Council at its next full meeting," said the former naval officer.

"Hopefully they will approve it and we will then make contact with the MoD again and go from there. With the weight of the town council behind it, it will stand a better chance."

However, he warned that the MoD is mindful of the civic responsibilities such an arrangement entails.

"The MoD told me they are pretty stretched at the moment with their civic responsibilities," he said.

Mike Bray, a former Liss resident and now secretary of the Confederation of British Service and ex-Service Organisations (COBSEO), which speaks in support of servicemen, also welcomed the idea.

"It's a brilliant idea," he said. "The recognition of the ordinary community is always welcome among servicemen. It's happened elsewhere successfully and there doesn't need to be a huge responsibility on the unit to carry out a lot of civic duties."

Don Brooks, president of the Royal British Legion, Petersfield Association, said: "It's bound to be a good thing to recognise what the military are doing.

"So many people undermine what they're doing or make them feel they're not supported. Whether you agree with what they're doing we should still support them in doing it."

Malcolm Farrow, assistant general secretary of the Forces Pension Society, added his voice of support. "Great idea – giving the freedom of the town to a naval, military or RAF unit or even a tri-Service unit of which there are several nowadays," he said

"These people have been taken for granted for far too long and hugely deserve a public show of respect and admiration.