Aboukir from battleship escort to Harwich support

Aboukir escorted the damaged HMS Hood from Malta to Gibraltar, where Sutlej took over for the passage to Chatham. The two-stage escort put the fleet-adjunct role into practice: an armoured cruiser could protect and assist a weakened battleship without diverting another battleship. After war began, Aboukir joined the Seventh Cruiser Squadron and patrolled the Broad Fourteens in support of the Harwich Force. The squadron was meant to operate within the Southern Force with destroyer support and to delay a stronger German move until heavier British forces could arrive. Her placement off the Dutch coast during Heligoland Bight was therefore a reserve and support assignment, although she saw no action.