ABSTRACT
The early twentieth-century military reforms and debates on strategy have begun to receive considerable attention in recent years; the account which follows focuses on one aspect only, the extent to which these reforms were affected by the political, and in particular the Parliamentary strength of the Volunteers. The particular and piecemeal reforms which the Royal Commission suggested were sensible enough, and many were already by the time of the Report under the consideration of the War Office. The substantial reform of War Office organisation recommended by the Elgin Commission in July had yet to be carried out, but it was known that the execution of this reform was to be entrusted to a high-powered committee of three men headed by Viscount Esher. If the Territorials felt that their organisation and achievements were treated with scant respect, they could perhaps take some satisfaction in contemplating the ways in which they had helped to shape Britain's military structure.
