[4] Leaving Plymouth on 31 January 1902,[5] she stopped at Madeira, São Vicente, Montevideo and Sandy Point before arriving at the garrison of the Pacific station in Valparaíso in mid-March.

[8] On 18 April 1902 Grafton landed two parties of fully armed sailors at San José, Guatemala, to suppress the revolutionary disturbance caused by the United Kingdom's efforts to obtain re-payment of a loan from the Guatemalan government.

[10][11] On 31 January 1903 Grafton was on passage from Callao, Peru to Coquimbo, Chile, when she struck and killed a large (estimated at 60 feet (18 m) long) whale.

[13] In December 1914,[14] with the Edgar class having proved unsuitable for blockade work in the North Sea, Grafton was withdrawn from active service, with her two 9.2 inch guns removed to arm the M15-class monitors M23 and M28.

[15][16] It was decided to refit four ships of the Edgar class, including Grafton, for shore bombardment work for the planned operations in the Dardanelles.

[21] Grafton's anti-torpedo bulges proved effective and damage was limited, allowing her to be safely brought into port at Malta under her own power with no casualties.