Built by John Brown & Company, of Clydebank, she was laid down 30 April 1940, launched 1 February 1941 and completed on 27 October 1941.

Roberts provided bombardment support during Operation Torch in North Africa, where she was damaged by two 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs in the Battle of Béjaïa.

[citation needed] In July 1945, Roberts departed the United Kingdom for the Indian Ocean to support Operation Mailfist, the planned liberation of Singapore.

[3] Roberts was sold for scrap shortly after the war,[citation needed] but hired back by the navy as an accommodation ship at Devonport until 1965.

The Clearing of the Scheldt Estuary and the Liberation of Walcheren 2 October - 7 November 1944 Second World War 60th Anniversary, number 8, page 15.