Royal Naval Reserve Volunteers Medal, obverse: young head of Queen Victoria by G. Dawe, ‘Victoria Dei Gratia, Royal Naval Reserve; reverse: sailor standing by an anchor and cannon, ‘England Expects Every Man to Do His Duty; Volunteers’, 34mm., silver, unnamed, with ring suspension, good very fine £60-80

The Royal Naval Reserve, originally called the ‘Royal Naval Reserve (Volunteers)’, were instituted by the Royal Naval Reserve (Volunteer) Act of 1859. It provided for a reserve of professional seamen (from 1861 included Masters, Mates and Engineers) from which the Royal Navy could call upon in times of need. It was not until 1908 that a decoration and medal was instituted for ‘long service and good conduct’.