The ship's anti aircraft armament was gradually increased, first by fitted a second quadruple machine gun mount, and then by the addition of Oerlikon 20 mm cannons and finally a 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun, giving an ultimate anti-aircraft outfit of three Oerlikons and one 2-pounder.

[4] On commissioning, Shoreham was deployed to the Persian Gulf, where she served continuously, except for refits, until the outbreak of the Second World War.

On 18 June 1940 the Italian submarine Galileo Galilei was spotted off Aden by a patrolling aircraft and attacked unsuccessfully by two RAF bombers.

Shoreham and the destroyer Kandahar were sent out to intercept, but a depth charge attack by Khandahar was unsuccessful and the submarine escaped.

[11] On 23 June 1940, Shoreham, together with the destroyers Khandahar, Khartoum and Kingston encountered the Italian submarine Torricelli off Perim Island.

A gun duel between the British ships and Torricelli took place in which both Shoreham and Khartoum were hit by shells from the Italian submarine and Toricelli was sunk.

[14][15] On 23 May 1941, Shoreham intercepted the German merchant ship Oder, which had left Massawa earlier that day, near Perim.

Shoreham was assigned to the attack on Abadan, covering the landing of the 24th Indian Infantry Brigade which was tasked with taking the oil refineries in the city.

[17][18] After the invasion was completed Shoreham returned to the Red Sea, serving as anti-aircraft guard ship at Suez, and in January 1942 transferred to the Eastern Fleet, based at Colombo.

[9] On 10 July 1943 Shoreham was part of the naval force supporting Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily.

From March to June 1944 Shoreham was refitted at Cape Town and then returned to the Eastern Fleet, where she was employed on convoy escort of the East coast of India.