Of 1,568 gross register tons (GRT), and with a length of 260 ft (79 m), she was powered by a 3-cylinder triple expansion engine, producing 2,300 ihp (1,700 kW) to give a maximum speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph).

[3] In service on the daily Rotterdam to London route, after the invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 the ship was chartered by the British Ministry of War Transport[4] and was sent to Guernsey to evacuate children in anticipation of the German occupation of the Channel Islands.

[4] She served as the flagship of Western Approaches Command's Anti-Submarine Training School at Tobermory where from about July 1940 all escort ships intended for Atlantic convoy duty attended before being allowed to deploy.

A noted depiction of the establishment and its commander is given (albeit in fictional form) in Nicholas Monsarrat's novel The Cruel Sea.

She was finally decommissioned in October 1970, struck from the Navy List in July 1971, and sold for scrapping in November 1972.