Powell continued her periodic visits to Greece after 1936, until the Second World War intervened. In 1939 Powell was appointed film critic at "The Sunday Times", and in 1941 she found war work with a Greek connection in the Political Warfare Executive, which oversaw Britain's propaganda in occupied Europe, where she worked until 1945: she was involved with making sure that the BBC's broadcasts to Greece accurately represented British policies. In June 1943 she married Leonard Russell (1906–1974), the literary editor at "The Sunday Times".