21 SAS insignia

[johanwiegman]

Originally Posted by NEMO

HI Johan ,

REF: post 18 your SAS B.D when you say ` cut off` titles do you mean the word ARTISTS was removed please ??

many thanks . ohhh and fantastic thread here many thanks for taking the time to share

Hi,

Indeed, that is what I mean: these titles were originally 'Special Air Service' over 'Artists' and the little 'Artists' appendix was cut off when 21 changed their titles. After the change, 21 members were still issued with a set of the original titles and told to remove the 'Artists' bit before sewing them on their BD.

Of course, later - when stocks of the original ran out - new 'Special Air Service' shoulder titles were produced without 'Artists'. The new shoulder titles were the same as the shoulder titles worn by 22 and 23 SAS.

See picture of the full shoulder title and removed 'Artists' appendix as sold on Bosleys in July 2011. In this case the cutting was done very professionally, probably by a tailor.

Copyright of the picture is with Bosleys.

Cheers,

Johan