§ 18. Colonel YATEasked the Under secretary of State for War whether previous service in the Volunteers is permitted to count as qualifying service for the Territorial officers' decoration; and, if so, whether there is any reason why previous service in the Militia should not equally be allowed to count?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Mr. Macpherson)Previous service in the Volunteers counts as qualifying service for the Territorial Decoration for the following reason: When the old Volunteer Force was reconstituted under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907, the Volunteer officers' decoration Became obsolete, and a similar decoration designated "The Territorial Decoration" was substituted, with the proviso that previous Volunteer service should count towards earning it, thus preserving the continuity between the Volunteer and the Territorial Forces. No such analogy exists between the Territorial Force and the Militia, and there is, therefore, no reason why Militia service should count.