A TERRITORIAL Army unit is set to be granted its town's top honour.
The 56 Signal Squadron, based in Seaside, Eastbourne is to be named an Honourary Freeman of the Borough of Eastbourne at a ceremony later in the year.
The award is to be formally granted to the squadron at a meeting of Eastbourne Borough Council on January 17 in recognition of its long service to the town.
The part-time force has been in the town since 1908, then as the Royal Engineers.
In the last 100 years only 52 people have received the award. The squadron is only the second group to be honoured by the town in this way. The Princess of Wales Regiment also has the honourary freedom of the town.
The last person to receive the award was Dame Jane Whitely, the widow of former Eastbourne MP Ian Gow, in 1993. Mr Gow was killed in an IRA car bomb attack in 1990.
The squadron will receive a special Freeman's certificate, which is expected to be presented at a ceremony on April 18.
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