HMS Wolsey number became G40 in June 1918; it was changed to D98 during the interwar period. Upon completion, "Wolsey" 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. After the conclusion of World War I, "Wolsey" served in the Atlantic Fleet. In the late 1920s, she operated on the China Station. After the British river steamer SS "Kutwo" collided with and sank a Chinese troop-carrying launch on the Yangtze River and Chinese authorities threatened to seize her at Nanking in early March 1927, "Wolsey" arrived
Naval warfare of World War I included those at Heligoland Bight (two of them), Dogger Bank, and Jutland. Though British tactical success remains a subject of historical debate, Britain accomplished its strategic objective of maintaining the blockade and keeping the main body of the High Seas Fleet in port for the vast majority of the war. The High Seas Fleet remained a threat as a fleet in being that forced Britain to retain a majority of its capital ships in the North Sea. The set-piece battles and maneuvering have drawn historians' attention; however, it was the naval blockade of food and raw material imports into Germany