She was adopted by the civil community of Eastwood, Kimberley and Selston, Nottinghamshire in 1942 after a successful Warship Week campaign for National Savings.

She finished the trials and had completed storing and weapon system calibrations by February, and took passage to Scapa Flow to join the units of the Home Fleet.

On 21 February she was deployed with the cruiser HMS Manchester in the North Western Approaches, carrying out patrols to intercept merchant shipping returning to Germany and commerce raiders attempting to attack Atlantic convoys.

Penelope ran aground whilst attempting to enter the fjord at Fleinvær, and had to be towed clear by Eskimo.

She was nominated to serve in the Mediterranean in May, and underwent preparation for foreign service that saw the damage sustained during the Norwegian operations being repaired.

They arrived at Alexandria on 23 April, and all three were nominated for service in the Red Sea, in company with another sister, HMS Kingston.

These actions were part of a series of precautions that were being taken in anticipation of Italy's entry to the war on the side of the Axis powers.

On 20 October she joined HMS Leander and five sloops of the East Indies Squadron in escorting Convoy BN 7.

Kimberley remained deployed with the fleet screen until it arrived at Alexandria on 10 May, having been the target of unsuccessful air attacks.

Kimberley returned to Alexandria on 25 May, sailing again on 28 May with Ajax, Orion and Dido, screened by Hotspur, Hereward, Imperial and Jackal to begin evacuating troops from Crete.

The British ships came under heavy and sustained air attacks during their return passage, during which both Ajax and Dido were badly damaged.

Kimberley returned to action on 10 June, when she carried out a bombardment of the Khan bridge area in support of a British military advance.

On 15 June whilst off Beirut, she was involved in an engagement with the French Guépard class destroyers Guepard and Valmy.

Kimberley was deployed in support of army operations against Tobruk, and screening fleet units as they searched for enemy supply convoys throughout August to October 1941.

Kimberley had her first deployment with the Force on 30 November, when she joined HMS Aurora, Penelope, Ajax, Neptune and Kingston in intercepting a supply convoy.

Kimberley carried out an attack on the convoy off Benghazi, on 1 December and succeeded in sinking the ammunition ship Adriatico.

She was in action again the following day, when she took part in the sinking of the Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mosto and the merchant Mantovani off Kerkenah Bank.

On 15 December Kimberley joined the cruisers HMS Carlisle, Euryalus and Naiad and the destroyers Hasty, Havock, Jervis, Kingston, Kipling, Decoy and Nizam in forming Force C, which was assigned to escort the Breconshire to Malta.

By 16 December unconfirmed reports of Italian battle group escorting a supply convoy to Benghazi had reached the British force.

Kimberley remained with Force C. A brief engagement followed, later becoming known as the First Battle of Sirte, in which the Italian warships withdrew after the British destroyers attempted to approach to make torpedo attacks.

In July she was nominated to take part in special duties during the planned allied landings in the south of France (Operation Dragoon).

On 14 August she embarked Admiral John Cunningham, the Commander in Chief Mediterranean, so that he could monitor the passage of the assault convoys through the Straits of Bonifacio.

In October she was transferred to the British Aegean Force, in order to support the landings to reoccupy the Greek mainland (Operation Manna).

She carried out interception patrols throughout November, in order to prevent the evacuation of German personnel from occupied territory.

She was off Rhodes on 8 May 1945 when Major General Wagner, Commander of German forces in the Dodecanese, and two of his staff officers came aboard her to formally surrender.