[2] Upon completion, Windsor was assigned to the Grand Fleet, based at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, in which she served for the rest of World War I.

[2] On the day the United Kingdom entered World War II, 3 September 1939, Windsor was assigned to the 18th Destroyer Flotilla at Portland, England, for convoy escort and patrol duty in the English Channel and Southwestern Approaches.

[2] In May 1940, Windsor transferred to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla at Dover and was assigned to the support of military operations opposing the highly successful German offensive into France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg that began that month.

On 28 May, Windsor herself came under a heavy and sustained attack by 15 German aircraft, which bombed and strafed her, inflicting 30 casualties on her crew and causing significant damage, forcing her to return to Dover.

[2] Windsor returned to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich in July 1941 and resumed her North Sea convoy and patrol duties.

In September 1942, Windsor was assigned to support the passage of the Arctic convoys PQ 18 and QP 14 during their voyages to and from the Soviet Union, respectively.

[2] After spending the autumn of 1942 in North Sea operations, Windsor again detached in December 1942 for a tour of duty with the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.

[2] Windsor continued her escort and patrol operations in the North Sea until May 1944, when the Royal Navy assigned her to support of the upcoming Allied invasion of Normandy, scheduled for early June 1944.

Accordingly, she joined the corvette HMS Starwort and two motor launches of the Royal Navy Coastal Forces off Southend in early June 1944 to form Escort Group 132, assigned to escort Convoy ETC2Y, which consisted of 13 coasters carrying pre-loaded British transports as well as five water tankers and 10 oil tankers.

The invasion was postponed from 5 to 6 June 1944 due to bad weather, but on 7 June, the day after the initial landings, the convoy arrived off the invasion beaches to discharge its cargo, then returned to the Nore later in the day to begin a convoying cycle supporting the build-up of Allied forces and supplies in Normandy.

[2] In July 1944, Windsor returned to patrol and escort duty in the North Sea, which she continued until the surrender of Germany in early May 1945.