The 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Volunteers) is a special forces regiment of the British Territorial Army. Special forces or special operations forces are relatively small military units raised and trained for special operations missions such as Special Reconnaissance (SR), Unconventional Warfare (UW), Direct Action (DA), Terrorism (T), Counter-Terrorism (CT), and Foreign Internal Defense (FID). ... In the United Kingdom the Territorial Army is a part of the British Army composed of reserve units, or part-time soldiers. ...

History

The Artists' Rifles formed in 1859, part of the widespread volunteer movement which developed in the face of potential French invasion after Felice Orsini's attack on Napoleon III was linked to Britain. The group was organised in London by Edward Starling, an art student, and comprised various professional painters, musicians, actors, architects and others involved in creative endeavours. It was established on 28 February 1860 as the 38th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps, with headquarters at Burlington House. Its first commanders were the painters Henry Wyndham Phillips and Frederic Leighton. The unit's badge, designed by William Wyon, shows the heads of the Roman gods Mars and Minerva in profile. 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Felice Orsini (1819 - March 13, 1858) was an Italian revolutionary who tried to assassinate Napoleon III. Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna. ... Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (April 20, 1808 - January 9, 1873) was the son of King Louis Bonaparte and Queen Hortense de Beauharnais; both monarchs of the French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Burlington House is a courtyard building off Picadilly in London. ... Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (December 31, 1830 - January 25, 1896) was an English painter and sculptor. ... William Wyon (1795—1851) was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and a magical flower (or Jupiter). ... Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. ...

In September 1880, the corps became the 20th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps, with headquarters at Duke Street. It formed the 7th Volunteer Battalion of the Rifle Brigade from 1881 until 1891 and the 6th Volunteer Battalion from 1892 to 1908. During this period, the Artists' Rifles fought in the Boer Wars. Following the formation of the Territorial Force, the Artists' Rifles was one of twenty-eight volunteer battalions in the London and Middlesex areas that combined to form the new London Regiment. It became the 28th (County of London) Battalion of the London Regiment on 1 April 1908. September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War There were two Boer wars, one in 1880-81 and the second from October 11, 1899-1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch origin (called Boere, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put an end to the two independent... In the United Kingdom the Territorial Army is a part of the British Army composed of reserve units, or part-time soldiers. ... Middlesex is an area of south-eastern England, it is traditionally regarded as one of the 39 historic counties of England. ... Battalions of the London Regiment early 1900s by Richard Caton Woodville (1856-1927) The London Regiment is a Territorial Army regiment in the British Army. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Artists' Rifles was a popular unit for volunteers. It had been increased to twelve companies in 1900 and was formed into three sub-battalions in 1914, and recruitment was eventually restricted by recommendation from existing members of the battalion. It particularly attracted recruits from public schools and universities; on this basis, following the outbreak of the first World War, a number of enlisted members of the Artists' Rifles were selected to be officers in other units. In October 1914, the Artists' Rifles was established as an Officers Training Corps. Over fifteen thousand men passed through the battalion during the war, ten thousand of them becoming officers. The battalion eventually saw battle in France in 1917 and 1918, suffering thousands of casualties and earning hundreds of honours. 1900 (MCM) is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A public school, in current English, Welsh and Northern Ireland usage, is a (usually) prestigious independent school, for children usually between the ages of 11 or 13 and 18, which charges fees and is not financed by the state. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

In the early 1920s the unit was reconstituted as an infantry regiment within the Territorial Army, the 28th County of London Regiment. In 1937, this regiment became part of the Prince Consort' Own Rifle Brigade. The regiment was not deployed during the second World War, functioning again as an Officers Training Corps throughout the war. It was disbanded in 1945, but reformed in the Rifle Brigade in January 1947 and transferred to the Army Air Corps in July as the 21st Battalion, Special Air Service Regiment (Artists' Rifles). 21 SAS was active during the Malayan Emergency and in many subsequent conflicts. In 1952, members of the Artists' Rifles who had been involved in special operations in Malaya formed the 22nd Battalion of the SAS, the modern special forces regiment - the only time a Territorial Army unit has been used to form a unit in the Regular Army. Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Army Air Corps is a vital component of the British Army. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... For other Special Air Services, see Australian Special Air Service Regiment and Special Air Service of New Zealand. ... The Malayan Emergency was an insurrection and guerrilla war of the Malay Races Liberation Army against the British and Malayan administration from 1948-1960 in what is now Malaysia. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Special forces or special operations forces are relatively small military units raised and trained for special operations missions such as Special Reconnaissance (SR), Unconventional Warfare (UW), Direct Action (DA), Terrorism (T), Counter-Terrorism (CT), and Foreign Internal Defense (FID). ...

Still constituted as 21 SAS, the Artists' Rifles became a reserve regiment in the Territorial Army in 1967. In the Southeast Asian Conflict in the 1970´s 21 SAS was active as a reserve volunteer unit mainly as an observation team. The unit used non-British personnel as well as UK born soldiers. They were disguised as Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Battle Honours

• South Africa 1900-01
• The Great War (3 battalions): Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Arras 1918, Ancre 1918, Albert 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914-18

NB: From 1947, all battle honours were earned and shared by the whole corps of the Special Air Service. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other Special Air Services, see Australian Special Air Service Regiment and Special Air Service of New Zealand. ...

Today

Today the regiment is one of two Territorial Army regiments in the Special Air Service. There are three squadrons: one in London, one in Newport and one split between Hampshire, Cambridge and Southampton. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd) is the third largest city in Wales (after Cardiff and Swansea). ... Hampshire (abbr. ... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... Civic Centre, Southampton Southampton is a city and major port situated on the south coast of England. ...

Famous members

• A. V. Alexander
• Noel Coward
• David Davis
• Bear Grylls
• Douglas Eivind Hall
• William Holman Hunt
• Chris Kendall
• John Lavery
• Frederic Leighton
• John Everett Millais
• William Morris
• Paul Nash
• Wilfred Owen
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti
• Edward Thomas
• Barnes Wallis

Albert Victor Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough, (1 May 1885 - 11 January British Labour and Co-operative politician. ... Noël Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noël with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and Peirce is the correct spelling) (December 16, 1899 – March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... David Davis The Right Honourable David Michael Davis (born December 23, 1948) is a British politician, Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden and Shadow Home Secretary. ... Bear Grylls, christened Edward Michael Grylls, son of the late Conservative MP, Sir Michael Grylls, is an international best-selling author, mountaineer, adventurer and motivational speaker. ... William Holman Hunt - Self-Portrait William Holman Hunt (April 2, 1827 - September 7, 1910) was a British painter. ... John Lavery (Born Belfast, 20 March 1856, died Kilkenny, 10 January 1941) was an Irish painter best known for his portraits. ... Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (December 31, 1830 - January 25, 1896) was an English painter and sculptor. ... John Everett Millais (June 8, 1829–August 13, 1896) was a British painter and illustrator who was one of founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. ... This page is about William Morris, the writer, designer and socialist. ... Paul Nash, (May 11, 1889 – July 11, 1946) was a British war artist. ... Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen, MC (March 18, 1893 – November 4, 1918) was an English poet. ... Dante Gabriel Rossetti (May 12, 1828 - April 10, 1882) was an English poet, painter and translator. ... Edward Thomas (March 3, 1878 - April 9, 1917) was one of the best-known English poets of World War I. Thomas was of Welsh extraction but was born in London. ... Sir Barnes Neville Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE, FRS, RDI, commonly known as Barnes Wallis, (September 26, 1887 – October 30, 1979) was a British scientist, engineer and inventor. ...

External links

• Regiments.org

Artists' Rifles is also the name of a 2000 album by the indie group Piano Magic. This article is about the year 2000. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Piano Magic is an indie group formed in 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance. ...