Formation and 19th century , 17 Duke's Road,
Bloomsbury, built 1888 as the headquarters of the 20th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps The regiment was established 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; a profile it strove to maintain for some years. It was established on 28 February 1860 as the '''38th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps''', with headquarters at
Burlington House. Until 1914 the regimental full dress uniform was light grey with white facings, silver buttons and braid. This distinctive uniform dated from the regiment's foundation as a volunteer unit. After the First World War, standard khaki was the normal dress. 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). The
drill hall was designed by
Robert William Edis, the commanding officer. It was officially opened by the
Prince of Wales. '', 1918, oil on canvas, by
John Nash 20th century Following the formation of the
Territorial Force, the Artists' Rifles was one of 26 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. 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. 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 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. 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, forming (alongside
23 SAS)
I Corps' Corps Patrol Unit. In the case of an invasion, this Special Air Service Group would have let themselves be bypassed and stay-behind in order to collect intelligence behind Warsaw Pact lines and conduct target acquisition, and thus try to slow the enemy's advance.
Peter de la Billière, who later commanded 22 SAS and then became Director Special Forces, served as their adjutant for part of this period. He later wrote: "People began to see that the Territorial SAS were first class and enhanced the reputation of the whole Regiment in a special way of their own." In early 2003, a composite squadron of about 60 soldiers of 21 SAS, including soldiers from 23 SAS, were deployed to Afghanistan. There are conflicting accounts on the role of the squadron during this time with Rayment writing in 2003 that it was "long-range reconnaissance" while in 2010 Rayment writes that it was to "establish a communications network across Afghanistan and also acted as liaison teams". Neville writes that they were "instrumental in early efforts to unite various warlord factions" working with the
SIS [Secret Intelligence Service] and that they also provided close protection for SIS officers. Three 21 SAS soldiers were awarded
Military Crosses as a result of fighting in
Nad-e Ali in
Helmand Province in Afghanistan in 2008. A 21 SAS soldier was awarded a
Conspicuous Gallantry Cross at a later date for service in Afghanistan. The units then left that brigade before the end of 2019. Today, the two reserve regiments, 21 SAS and 23 SAS are back under the operational command of the Director Special Forces, as an integrated part of United Kingdom Special Forces. == Organisation ==