Following her shakedown cruise, Aulick proceeded to the west coast where she joined Destroyer Flotilla 10 of the Pacific Fleet.

On 8 October 1940, Aulick was decommissioned at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and transferred to the British under the agreement with the United Kingdom exchanging American destroyers for bases in the Atlantic.

Burnham was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber guns and three of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of a Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar.

In 1944, she was used on aircraft training duties in the Western Approaches Command, which allowed a contingent from the ship to visit the Somerset town and march the streets.

On Thursday 21 October 2004, exactly 60 years after the crew of the vessel marched through the streets of the Somerset town to cheering crowds, Ron Giles, president of the former HMS Burnham Association, unveiled a plaque on the seawall of Burnham-on-Sea.