Page last updated at 14:23 GMT, Thursday, January 5 2012

Honorary Freedom of the Borough

The Honorary Freedom is the highest honour which the Council can bestow.  Under Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972 Borough Councils may admit as Honorary Freemen of the Borough ‘persons of distinction and persons who have, in the opinion of the Council, rendered eminent services to the Borough’.

The Borough has conferred the honour on:-

1977 - Peter A T Green*
1977 - Norman F N Norris*
1977 - Godfrey G Olson OBE
1977 - Sir David E C Price DL
1986 - Frank E Brown*
1986 - Dennis A Tranah LLB
1989 - Suzanne Bartlet
1995 - George E Raymond MBE*
2003 - Margaret Kyrle OBE JP BA*
2005 - Lord Chidgey
2006 - Christopher Tapp
2008 - Doreen Wellfare

In addition to conferring the honour of Freeman to individuals, the Freedom of the Borough was also awarded to The Royal Hampshire Regiment in September 1991.

This gives the Regiment the right ‘to march through the Borough with drums beating, bands playing and due ceremonial’.

In September 1992 The Royal Hampshire Regiment amalgamated with The Queen's Regiment to form The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires).  The honour of Freedom has been transferred to the new Regiment.

* deceased