Caradoc spent most of the rest of her time between the World Wars overseas or in reserve with deployments to the Far East and the North America and West Indies Station.

Recommissioned before the start of World War II in September 1939, she returned to the North American Station where she helped to intercept two German blockade-runners.

The C-class cruisers were intended to escort the fleet and defend it against enemy destroyers attempting to close within torpedo range.

[5] The main armament of the Caledon-class ships consisted of five BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns that were mounted on the centreline.

While stopped in Copenhagen, Denmark, en route, Caradoc pulled off the collier, SS Tregarth, after she had run aground.

[14] On 22 April, aerial reconnaissance reported that the Red Army was massing at Kaffa Bay in the town of Vladislovovka.

[9] Joined by her half-sister Centaur, and the destroyer Parthian, Caradoc and Lemnos again bombarded Soviet troops two days later, this time in the village of Parpach.

Three months later, she was hit by three 3-inch shells as she engaged Bolshevik coastal artillery at Ochakov, but suffered no casualties or damage.

Caradoc participated in the withdrawal of ships from Turkish waters in December 1922 as the Treaty of Lausanne that ended the war was being negotiated.

[11] After returning home, Caradoc began a lengthy refit from 15 September 1927 to October 1928 when she was assigned to the North America and West Indies Station based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda.

[9] At the beginning of the war on 3 September 1939, Caradoc was at Portland Harbour[17] and was reassigned to operate off the North American coast shortly afterwards.

[9] On 23 October the light cruiser Orion (85) and the Canadian destroyer Saguenay spotted the German oil tanker Emmy Friedrich in the Yucatán Channel.

On 11 December 1940 the German blockade runner Rhein was intercepted by the Dutch sloop Van Kinsbergen west of the Florida Strait.

[18] The ship was refitted in New York City between 28 October 1941–26 February 1942[9] where her "pom-pom"s were exchanged for five 20-millimeter (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA guns on single mounts.

[9] She was converted into a gunnery training ship in Durban, South Africa, between 21 June–3 July,[19] and was transferred to Colombo, Ceylon, in 1944.