She belonged to Bibby Line, which ran passenger and cargo services between Rangoon in Burma (now Yangon in Myanmar) and various ports in Great Britain, via the Suez Canal and Gibraltar.

[1] The Admiralty requisitioned Shropshire in 1939, had her converted into an armed merchant cruiser (AMC), and renamed her Salopian.

[4] The second Shropshire was the first of five sister ships that the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan in Glasgow built for Bibby Line.

[5][6][7][8] Fairfield built Shropshire as yard number 619, launched her on 10 June 1926, and completed her that October.

[15] Salopian was assigned to the South Atlantic Station from October 1939 until January 1940, the Northern Patrol from February to August 1940, the Northern and Western Patrol from November 1940 to February 1941, the Bermuda and Halifax Task Force from March to April 1941, and the North Atlantic Task Force in May 1941.

[16] On 1 March 1940 Captain Sir John Alleyne, DSO, DSC succeeded Farquharson as her commander.

[15] On 8 October 1940 Salopian and her sister ship Cheshire were on patrol when enemy aircraft attacked Convoy WS 3 (Fast), which was assembling in home waters to take seven troopships from Britain to Suez.

[15] In 1941 Salopian formed part of the escort of transatlantic convoy SC 27, which left Sydney, Nova Scotia on 30 March.

[18] At 0400 hrs on 13 May 1941 the convoy was about 400 nautical miles (740 km) southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland when U-98 fired two torpedoes at Salopian.

Salopian launched ten lifeboats, and a motor boat which laid a smoke screen in an attempt to protect the ship.