In mid-1943, the poor condition of the ship—which had become apparent as early as 1936, but could not be remedied due to the outbreak of the war—prompted the Admiralty to recall her to Britain to be withdrawn from service. She arrived in the Clyde on 31 September, where she was reduced to reserve status for the rest of the conflict. The ship's electrical system was in very poor condition and needed a thorough overhaul, and her hull was badly stressed from years of heavy use. Although in reserve, the ship was used to carry Prime Minister Winston Churchill part of the way to the Tehran Conference in November and December. In January 1944, she was transferred to the Portsmouth Command, based in Southampton; she remained there, out of use, until 17 December, when she was converted into a training ship for boiler room personnel, part of the training establishment . During the period of inactivity, in May 1944, her main armament was removed to provide spare guns for the battleships "Ramillies" and "Warspite", as well as monitors which were to be vital during the bombardment of the beaches of Normandy during Operation Overlord.