Artists Rifles The Artists Rifles is a special forces regiment of the British Territorial Army . Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit , the regiment saw active service during the Boer Wars and World War I , earning a number of battle honours . It did not serve outside Britain during World War II , as it was used as an officer training unit at that time . The regiment was disbanded in 1945 . In 1947 it was re - established to resurrect the Special Air Service Regiment . Today , the full title of the Regiment is 21 Special Air Service Regiment ( Artists ) ( Reserve ) . History . Formation and 19th century . The regiment was 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 Sterling , 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 J . W . Wyon , shows the heads of the Roman gods Mars and Minerva in profile . In September 1880 , the corps became the 20th Middlesex ( Artists ) Rifle Volunteer Corps , with headquarters at Duke ' s Road , off Euston Road , London ( now The Place , home of the Contemporary Dance Trust ) . 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 Second Boer War as part of the City Imperial Volunteers . Following the formation of the Territorial Force , the Artists Rifles was one of twenty - six 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 . 20th century . 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 of the 7th Division . This exercise was so successful that , early in 1915 , selected Artists officers and NCOs were transferred to run a separate Officers Training Corps , the remainder being retained as a fighting unit . Over fifteen thousand men passed through the battalion during the war , more than ten thousand of them becoming officers . The battalion eventually saw battle in France in 1917 and 1918 . Casualties suffered by both members of this battalion and amongst officers who had trained with the Artists Rifles before being posted to other regiments were 2 , 003 killed , 3 , 250 wounded , 533 missing and 286 prisoners of war . Members of the Regiment won eight Victoria Crosses , fifty - six Distinguished Service Orders and over a thousand other awards for gallantry . In the early 1920s , the unit was reconstituted as an infantry regiment within the Territorial Army , as the 28th County of London Regiment . In 1937 , this regiment became part of the Prince Consort ' s 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 Special Air Service Regiment ( Artists Rifles ) . The number 21 SAS was chosen to perpetuate two disbanded wartime regiments 1 SAS and 2 SAS , with the 1 and the 2 being reversed into 21 . 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 22 SAS , the modern special forces regiment - the only time a Territorial Army unit has been used to form a unit in the Regular Army . For much of the Cold War , 21 SAS ' s role was to provide stay - behind parties in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of western Europe ( as part of the Corps Patrol Unit alongside 23 SAS and the Honourable Artillery Company ) . Current role and structure . 21 SAS consists of : The regiment ' s current role is to provide depth to the United Kingdom Special Forces ( UKSF ) group . 21 SAS is tasked to the highest level and can operate in difficult and often changing circumstances , sometimes in absence of guidance and within situations that have significant operational and strategic importance . Support Squadron provides support staff to UKSF ( R ) activities including personnel such as drivers from the RLC , REME weapon technicians , combat medics , Intelligence Corps personnel and Ops room staff . War memorial . The unit ' s war memorial in the entrance portico of the Royal Academy at Burlington House commemorates the 2003 men who gave their lives in the Great War with a second plaque to those who died in World War II . Victoria Cross . The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross in the Great War :