Talk:Volunteer Officers' Decoration

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This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as stub, and the rating on other projects was brought up to Stub class. BetacommandBot 20:28, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Page needs titling Volunteer Officer's Decoration

It's unclear (and confusing) as to why page "Volunteer Officer's Decoration" redirects to the shorter-titled page "Volunteer Decoration". Debrett's clearly states that the order has a full three-word title (see 'VD' at ref: http://www.debretts.com/people/honours/crown-honours-.aspx). The Wiki article likewise states the three-word description (ie. "Volunteer Officer's Decoration" in its text more often than the two-word alternative. The redirection should be reversed. Pete Hobbs (talk) 16:47, 22 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Just noticed the redirection was indeed reversed at 23:11 on 23 Feb 2013 by User:EricSerge. Nice one! Many thanks - it's always heartwarming to find requests noted and acted upon. However the "new" page has an apostrophe in the wrong place - should be Officer's (singular) not Officers' (plural), as always given to an individual. Can this be corrected? Sorry I don't know to edit-request by other means, although I'm ever-learning.. Pete Hobbs (talk) 17:39, 20 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Howdy. I saw that Debrett's had it as "Volunteer Officer's Decoration", but had remembered seeing both ways. Upon further investigation I found the London Gazette order of wear listing has it as "Volunteer Officers' Decoration"[1], it is the same at the direct.gov.uk website [2], and in the Royal Warrant establishing the decoration [3]. In my mind those sources seemed authoritative. Cheers. EricSerge (talk) 23:53, 20 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. On reading the above reply I initially thought surely Debrett's typing would be more accurate than London Gazette hacks and typesetters, but on studying both Gazette ref pages (1892 and 1925) I see there's a precise consistency throughout - ie. Officers', and the plural apostrophe is also used in describing a separate Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration (also postnomial V.D.) on the same 1925 Gazette page. So the title and basic description are now exactly right and clear for all - which must be useful for others e.g. anyone researching relatives with a V.D. decoration. I think there's now a need for a new stub page about the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration (VD), or maybe as an extra section to this article, as I begin to suspect it might be the proper title of the 1894 extension to officers in India and the Colonies - South African military decorations#Colonial forces 1894-1913 refers to it being granted in 1900–13 for example, and I've just seen a VD medal image inscribed Colonial Auxiliary Forces and with a VR insignia in the centre. Ah - http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/territorial_decoration/volunteer_officers_decoration.htm has full details. I'll use that to clarify the article further. Many thanks for above input re the apostrophe. Pete Hobbs (talk) 19:10, 21 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]