On 7 October 1939, "Emerald" sailed from Plymouth, England for Halifax, Nova Scotia with the gold bullion from the Bank of England bound for Montreal, Quebec, Canada to be used to pay for American war materials. As this voyage was under the strictest secrecy, the crew were outfitted with tropical whites to confuse German agents. In the company of the two old battleships, and , her sister ship, "Enterprise", and the old cruiser , she ran into some of the heaviest seas that Agar encountered. By the time they reached Halifax the "Emerald" had lost her ship's boats, rafts and various depth charges, wires, shackles and other valuable equipment, not to mention her spotter plane, a Fairey Seafox.