Volunteer Officers' Decoration for India and the Colonies
| Volunteer Officers' Decoration for India and the Colonies | |
|---|---|
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|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India | |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Type | Military long service decoration |
| Eligibility | Officers of the Volunteer Forces throughout the British Empire |
| Awarded for | Twenty years meritorious service Eighteen years service in India |
| Status | Discontinued in 1899 |
| Post-nominals | VD |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1894 |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) | Volunteer Long Service Medal |
| Next (lower) | Volunteer Long Service Medal for India and the Colonies |
| Related | Volunteer Officers' Decoration |
 Ribbon bar |
|
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. In 1894, the grant of the decoration was extended to commissioned officers of Volunteer Forces throughout the British Empire. A separate new decoration was instituted, the Volunteer Officers' Decoration for India and the Colonies, post-nominal letters VD.
Awarding of this decoration was discontinued in 1899, when it was superseded by the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration and later, in respect of India, by the Indian Volunteer Forces Officers' Decoration.
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, colloquially known as the Volunteer Decoration, was instituted by Queen Victoria's Royal Warrant on 25 July 1892. The decoration could be awarded to efficient and thoroughly capable officers of proven capacity for long and meritorious service in the part-time Volunteer Force of the United Kingdom. The qualifying period of service was twenty years.
On 24 May 1894, the grant of the Volunteer Officers' Decoration was extended by Queen Victoria's Royal Warrant to commissioned officers of Volunteer Forces throughout the British Empire, defined as being India, the Dominion of Canada, the Crown Colonies and the Crown Dependencies. A separate new decoration was instituted, the Volunteer Officers' Decoration for India and the Colonies. This decoration was similar in design to the Volunteer Officers' Decoration, but bore the Royal Cypher "VRI" (Victoria Regina Imperatrix) instead of "VR" (Victoria Regina).
Even so, some Crown Dependencies continued to award the Volunteer Officers' Decoration instead of the Colonial version, until the Efficiency Decoration was instituted in September 1930.
The qualifying period of service was also twenty years, except in India where it was eighteen years. Service in the Volunteer Forces of any portion of the Empire was reckoned as part of the qualifying service required for this Decoration, while half of any previous service in the Permanent Forces of the Empire also counted towards qualification. The award did not confer any individual precedence, but entitled the recipient to use the post-nominal letters VD.
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