The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25th July 1892^[1] to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years. In 1894 the decoration was introduced for officers of Volunteer Forces in India and the Colonies (although in the case of India the length of qualifying service was reduced to eighteen years). Colonial and Indian officers were issued with different volunteer decorations from May, 1899. Their version had the letters "VRI" (Victoria Regina Imperatrix) in place of the "VR" (Victoria Regina).

The award of the Volunteer Decoration entitled the recipient to the use of the postnominal letters V.D.^[2] after their name.

The award was superseded by the Territorial Decoration in 1908.

Sources

Volunteer Long Service Medal - Veterans Affairs Canada

References

fr:Médaille d'ancienneté du service volontaire