During the engagement Agar had been wounded in the leg by shrapnel. This wound turned septic as a result of being left unattended after the sinking. When the "Dorsetshire" sank, Agar had been dragged down deep and suffered the bends while coming up, with serious damage to his lungs. On the surface he swallowed oil. These injuries affected his fitness for further seagoing duty. He was fifty-two and had completed thirty-seven years of active duty. After a short stay in Bombay where his health took a turn for the worse, he was sent to hospital in South Africa. The leg healed, but lung trouble from the bends and from the oil he swallowed stayed with him for the rest of his life. He arrived in Britain on 28 May 1942.