History

The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration was instituted in 1908 and awarded to Commissioned Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves in recognition of 15 years of service. Service spent in the ranks counted as half while service spent during wartime counted as double. The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration was replaced by the Royal Naval Reserve Decoration in 1966. The design of the Silver Medal is identical to the Royal Naval Reserve Decoration.

Clasps were awarded to denote an additional 10 years of service. Recipients of the Silver Medal were entitled to use the post-nominal letters "VD" until 1947, and "VRD" thereafter.

There are multiple versions of the Medal of the Medal which differ by the reigning monarch's cypher. Early versions of the Medal were issued with a green ribbon while later versions featured a dark blue, green, and red ribbon.