On 26 June Bicester escorted King George VI and Queen Elizabeth back to England after their visit to a naval base at Larne, Northern Ireland.

The destroyer passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, and joined the escort for ships on 11 August while on passage through the Sicilian Narrows to Malta.

In May the destroyer took part in the blockade of the Cape Bon area in order to prevent the escape of Axis craft.

On 2 December Bicester was damaged during an air raid on Bari when an ammunition ship was hit and exploded, spreading her cargo of mustard gas over the harbour and town.

[3] There were so many mustard gas casualties that, on arrival in Taranto, the ships had to ask for assistance to enter the harbour as all navigating officers had their vision impaired by this chemical weapon.

Bicester was deployed for convoy escort duties in the central Mediterranean, and for support of military operations in the Adriatic between February and April.

Between October and November, Bicester formed close support of the reoccupation of a number of Aegean islands, as well as convoy defence duties.

During December and January, the destroyer was a Piraeus guardship, supporting and defending convoys, until she was rebased at Malta from where she was nominated for refit in Alexandria.

The destroyer made a passage to the United Kingdom, where she was taken-in-hand for refit in order to improve habitability in June, 1945.

Upon completion of these works in July, the ship was recommissioned and the destroyer was ordered into the Indian Ocean to join the flotilla of the Eastern Fleet.

On 28 August the destroyer sailed from Trincomalee as part of escort for Convoy JMA2BS during her passage to assault a beachhead near Port Dickson.