England's Last Hope tells the story of the early years of the Territorial Force, Britain's part-time volunteer home defence army. Despite public ridicule and contempt, many thousands of largely working men gave their time and enthusiasm to create and sustain a force which they believed would be capable of hurling any putative invader from Britain's shores. This is the first study of how the county associations raised, clothed, trained and administered the auxiliary during the crucial years of its development in the years preceding the Great War. A combination of previously underused national and local sources underpins an examination of the creation and character of the county associations and the problems and frustrations thrown at them by an often hostile and unsympathetic War Office. It looks at the frequently bizarre experiences of the mobilization period during the summer of 1914 and demonstrates how, despite Kitchener's controversial decision not to use the associations as the vehicle with which to expand the field army, the Territorials played an essential role in raising and equipping the New Army.