Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal

Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal (Women's Voluntary Service Medal)
Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms
Country	United Kingdom
Type	Service medal
Eligibility	Royal Voluntary Service members
Awarded for	Fifteen years service
Status	Current
Clasps	Additional twelve year periods
Statistics
Established	1961
First awarded	1961
Order of wear
Next (higher)	Voluntary Medical Service Medal
Next (lower)	South African Medal for War Services
Ribbon bar

The Women's Voluntary Service Medal was instituted in 1961 and can be awarded for fifteen years of exemplary service in the Women's Voluntary Service. In 1966 Queen Elizabeth II granted the organisation the prefix "Royal" in recognition of its valued work and the title of the medal was changed to Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal.^[1][2][3][4]

Royal Voluntary Service

The Women’s Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions was established in 1938, in anticipation of impending hostilities, and played a key part in the evacuation of civilians from urban areas during the Second World War, most notably during the Blitz. After the war, the organisation evolved to assisting and caring for isolated and lonely people, particularly the elderly. Renamed the Royal Voluntary Service in 2013, it still serves as back-up to professional services in times of crisis by running rest centres and providing emergency feeding to members of the public, fire and rescue crews and police.^[5][6][7]

Institution

The Women's Voluntary Service Medal was instituted on 23 March 1961. It was renamed the Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal when Queen Elizabeth II, patron of the Women's Voluntary Service since 1956, granted the organisation the prefix "Royal" in 1966.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][9]}

Award criteria

The medal could be awarded to a volunteer after completing forty duties each year over a period of fifteen years. Holders of the medal qualified for the award of a clasp after each subsequent period of twelve years service. By the spring of 1990, 32,371 medals had been awarded.^{[8][10][11][12]}

Order of wear

In the order of wear prescribed by the British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, the Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal takes precedence after the Voluntary Medical Service Medal and before the South African Medal for War Services.^[4]

Description

The medal was struck in cupro-nickel by the Royal Mint and is a disk, 36 millimetres (1.42 inches) in diameter, with a raised rim on each side and suspended from a straight non-swivelling bar. The medal's design was created by coin designer Norman Sillman ARCA FRBS.^[1][8][13]

Obverse

The obverse has the letters "WVS", superimposed one upon the other in sequence and encircled by a wreath of ivy, the symbol of steadfastness, and rosebuds.^{[1][2][8][12]}

Reverse

The reverse shows three flower stems of rosemary, the woman’s herb, to typify remembrance and friendship. It is circumscribed "SERVICE BEYOND SELF".^{[1][2][8][12]}

Clasp

The clasp was also struck in cupro-nickel and is inscribed "LONG SERVICE". It is rectangular with bend-over pins on the reverse for attachment to the ribbon.^[10][14][15]

Ribbon

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 5 millimetres wide red band and a 3 millimetres wide white band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 16 millimetres wide dark green band.^[12][15][16]

References