__NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

awarded for long service in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the

Volunteer Officer's Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

when the

was formed on 1 April 1908, following the enactment of the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ( 7 Edw. 7. c. 9) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territor ...

, (7 Edw.7, c.9) which was a large reorganisation of the old

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

and the remaining units of

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

and

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

. However, the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

were transferred to the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

rather than becoming part of the

. Recipients of this award are entitled to use the letters "TD" after their name (post-nominal).''The London Gazette'' no. 28181, Tuesday, September 29, 1908
(Accessed on 25 July 2015)

Criteria

The original criterion was for a minimum of 20 years service (subsequently reduced to 12 years service) in the Territorial Force and Territorial Army, with war service counting double and service in the ranks counting half. In 1930 the new

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

or ‘ED’ was introduced to be awarded to all three services. When the ED was awarded to a Territorial Army officer it was officially known as Efficiency Decoration (Territorial), but it continued to be known informally as the Territorial Decoration and the recipient officially used the letters TD after their name. The Efficiency Decoration was itself replaced in 1999 by the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal, awarded to all ranks in all services.

Honourable Artillery Company

For members of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

the ribbon differed, being a half blue, half scarlet ribbon, with yellow edges. This distinction was bestowed by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

for the Volunteer Long Service And Good Conduct Medal and the honour extended to the same medals under the Territorial designations. The HAC ribbon colours were the household colours of King

Other details

Note that this medal is separate from the

Territorial Force Imperial Service Badge The Territorial Force Imperial Service Badge was a short-lived decoration of the United Kingdom awarded to those members of the Territorial Force (TF) who were prepared to serve outside the United Kingdom in defence of the Empire, in the event of n ...

. The equivalent award for the ranks was the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal (1908–1921), the

Territorial Efficiency Medal The Territorial Efficiency Medal (TEM) was a United Kingdom award for long service in the Territorial Army. It superseded the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal when the Territorial Force became the Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)#Interwar_re-establ ...

(1921–1930), and the Efficiency Medal (1930–1999).

References

External links

Queens Royal Surrey regiment - Territorial Decorations and Medals

On Churchill being awarded a TD
{{Efficiency and long service decorations and medals Decorations of the British Army Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth

Criteria

Honourable Artillery Company

Other details

References

Further reading

External links