Just prior to the start of the war in August 1939 Wakeful was reactivated and recommissioned to attend the Royal Review of the Reserve Fleet in Weymouth Bay.

At the outbreak of war Wakeful was assigned to convoy escort duty with the 17th Destroyer Flotilla, which was part of the Western Approaches Command.

A number of ships stopped to pick up the survivors, but one of these, the destroyer Grafton, was then in turn sunk by a German U-boat.

The wreck is a designated War Grave, lying at a depth of 24 metres (79 ft) in busy waters along the approaches to Zeebrugge harbour at 51° 22'N, 2° 43'E.

In 2003, work was done to remove parts of the superstructure and funnel that were considered to be a potential danger to navigation; the recovered ship's crest and foot plate are now placed in the National Museum of the Royal Navy.