History

The Volunteer Officer's Decoration was established by Queen Victoria by Royal Warrant on July 25, 1892. The Decoration was awarded to members of Volunteer Forces in recognition of 20 years of commissioned service or 40 years of non-commissioned service. The award was later extended to comparable forces overseas in 1894. Awards of members of the Honourable Artillery Company featured a distinctive ribbon. The Decoration was superseded by the Territorial Decoration in 1908 in the United Kingdom, but awards to Crown dependencies continued until 1930. Approximately 4 710 awards were issued.

Recipients were entitled to the post-nominal letters "VD."

There are 4 versions of the Medal which differ by the ruling monarch's cypher. Awards issued during the reign of Queen Victoria to United Kingdon recipients feature the cypher "VR" while awards made to dominion or colony recipients feature the cypher "VRI."