Aveley was built by J. Samuel White at their Cowes, Isle of Wight shipyard, being launched in 1953 and completing the next year.

She remained in Royal Navy service until 1982, spending several years laid up in reserve, and from 1963 to 1980 was used for training at Portsmouth.

In the early 1950s, the Royal Navy had a requirement for large numbers of minesweepers to counter the threat to British shipping from Soviet mines in the event of a conventional Third World War.

Aveley reached Malta in September and participated in preparatory drills, but the landing site was shifted to Suez and all minehunters were ordered back to the United Kingdom by October.

[8] In February 1986, the ship was replaced by the Ton-class minesweeper Wotton, and on 21 November 1986, arrived at the Portsmouth shipbreaking yard of Pounds for scrapping.