the Battle of the Atlantic 1939–42 At the outbreak of World War II, Murray was appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. From this HQ position, he played a key role in the build-up of the Navy to its eventual wartime strength of approximately 332 vessels. This effort included crossing Canada to recruit retired Royal Navy officers back into the Royal Canadian Navy, and advocating for the "small-ship anti-submarine" investment strategy that was eventually so successful. Murray was also central to negotiations with the USA and the UK. In March 1940 he made a secret visit to the UK to negotiate the construction of destroyers in the UK for the Royal Canadian Navy, and after returning to Canada he attended the first Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings leading up to the Ogdensburg Agreement. From there, Murray became a founding member of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD). It was while he was working for the PJBD that he renewed his friendship with Commander James "Chummy" Prentice, who was shortly thereafter assigned the position of Senior Officer, Canadian Corvettes under Murray. Both men would work closely together until the spring of 1944. Immediately after Ogdensburg, Murray traveled back to the UK, where he worked with the Canadian High Commissioner Vincent Massey to negotiate the Destroyers-for-bases deal, under which 50 US destroyers were provided to the British (and eventually Canadian) navies, in exchange for American land rights to a number of UK naval bases in the Caribbean and Newfoundland, which was at that time a British dominion. Murray signed the agreement for Canada, along with Vincent Massey and Lester B. Pearson, on 2 September 1940, before returning to Canada and being appointed Commodore. In October 1940, Murray went back to sea briefly as Captain of and Commodore Commanding Halifax Force, effectively in command of the five Canadian warships that were dispatched to the UK in January 1941 to serve convoy duty. While ashore for four months in the UK, Murray was given the unusual title of Commodore Commanding Canadian Ships and Establishments in the United Kingdom, and liaised closely with the Admiralty in the planning of an Atlantic strategy. On his return to Canada, and at the request of British Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, on 13 June 1941 Murray was put in charge of the Newfoundland Escort Force based out of St John's. This was the most important operational mandate given