More than one in five service personnel have had abuse shouted at them by strangers, according to research published today.

Although more than half of servicemen and women have experienced strangers offering thanks and support in the last five years, nearly one in 20 had experienced violence or attempted violence.

The study, commissioned by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, found the British public are less appreciative than their American counterparts.

Two thirds of the American public said they had personally thanked a member of the forces or could see themselves doing so. This compared to just over a quarter in Britain.

Nearly two thirds of the public said there was too little recognition for the armed forces in British society.

Almost three quarters of UK personnel serving overseas said they had experienced companies refusing to send goods to British Forces Post Office (BFPO) addresses

More than a quarter of personnel said they had been refused a mortgage, loan or credit card in the last five years, and one in five had had trouble getting a mobile phone contract. Personnel often said that their unavoidable frequent changes of address counted against them in credit checks.

Finding a good job was the biggest concern among service personnel about leaving the forces. More than half feared that employers would not understand what they had done in the military and so would not give them a chance. Despite their experience, more junior personnel often feared they would be starting their careers from scratch.

Despite a generally positive view of forces personnel and their attributes, a quarter of employers thought non-officers were unlikely to have people management skills.

The research included a poll of more than 9,000 serving personnel plus focus groups with members of the Army, RAF, Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

It was conducted with the permission of General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, and with organisational help from the Ministry of Defence.

For comparison, research was also conducted among members of the US armed services and the American public.

In the report, Lord Ashcroft called for greater willingness among the public to thank those in uniform for their service, wider availability of discounts for current and former service personnel, and for businesses to ensure they deliver to BFPO addresses and do not charge over the odds for doing do.

He also urged companies to recognise that for service personnel, frequent changes of address are part of the job and do not necessarily mean they are a bad credit risk, and for more employers to consider actively recruiting those leaving the forces, and to think about the skills and experience that middle and junior ranking personnel, as well as officers, will have to offer.

Lord Ashcroft said: "Since 2001 our armed forces have been in the public eye to a greater degree than at any time since the Second World War. As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, and thousands of service personnel face the prospect of redundancy, it is an appropriate time to take stock of our relationship with our armed forces and the men and women who serve.

"I hope this study will prompt people to think about whether our forces get the recognition they deserve, and what more we can do to show personnel that they are appreciated."

Gen Sir David said: "The men and women of our armed forces reflect what is best in our society. They are the finest of their generation. They deserve respect and support from the British public. So it's great to see that the vast majority of personnel get this recognition and are even thanked by strangers."

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: "We have worked hard to ensure our armed forces, veterans and their families have the support they need and are treated with the dignity they deserve. That is why we committed to rebuilding the Armed Forces Covenant and its principles are now enshrined in law, and we have made great progress over the last year with practical improvements to service life."

Loading Slideshow

• Hammond On Marr

  The coalition must not become bogged down in a complex war of attrition over House of Lords reform, a Conservative Cabinet minister warned today. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the Andrew Marr show that the Government needed to focus on issues that mattered to the public - such as jobs

• Royal Windsor Horse Show

  The Duke of Edinburgh takes part in the Laurent Perrier Meet of the British Driving Society Drive at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Windsor Castle, Berkshire

• Helicopter ditches in North Sea

  Initial examination of the EC225 Super Puma which ditched 25 miles off the coast of Aberdeen on Thursday suggest it suffered a crack to a gearbox shaft, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said. See PA story AIR Helicopter.

• Greek Elections

  Greek President Karolos Papoulias has called the leaders of Greece's political parties to meetings on Sunday, in a last-ditch effort to broker a deal for a coalition government.

• Orde warns of rise in crime

  Sir Hugh also denied that police were inherently racist. There has been a catalogue of complaints against officers in the Metropolitan Police in recent months, with a wave of separate allegations of racism under investigation by Scotland Yard and the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

• Demonstrators raise their hands during a protest at Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 12, 2012. The protesters returned to Sol to mark the anniversary of the protest movement that inspired groups in other countries. The protests began May 15 last year and drew hundreds and thousands of people calling themselves the indignant movement. The demonstrations spread across Spain and Europe as anti-austerity sentiment grew.

• Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing as he arrives to celebrate mass in Arezzo, Italy, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

• Russian protest

  Protesters march in downtown Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 13, 2012. At least 5,000 are marching along Moscow Boulevard Ring in a rare unsanctioned gathering led by popular Russian novelists, defending people's rights to gather on the streets without authorities' permission.

• Rank to buy Gala Coral casinos

  The proposed acquisition of Gala's 23 casinos will give Rank's Grosvenor division 58 UK sites - taking it above Malaysian firm Genting, which has 45 locations including Crockfords casino in London's Mayfair. See PA story CITY Rank. Photo credit should read: Michael Stephens/PA Wire

• The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of Russia, and prime NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is scheduled for 9:01 a.m. local time on Tuesday, May 15

• Georgia Flood

  A man rows in a rubber boat at flooded area in the centre of Tbilisi, Georgia, Sunday, May 13, 2012. Emergency services say at least four people died in a flood in Georgia's capital overnight after torrential rain caused the local river to burst its banks

• River Avon Tragedy

  People paddle on the River Avon, just downstream from a weir where the bodies of a man and child were pulled from the river, after a boat overturned at a weir in Barford, near Warwick.