to reach Germany. Several days later, unable to be repaired and apparently confronted by powerful Royal Navy reinforcements (including HMS Cumberland), the Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled by her captain in the harbour of Montevideo. Exeter made for Port Stanley for emergency repairs which took until January 1940. She was repaired and modernised at HM Dockyard, Devonport between 14 February 1940 and 10 March 1941; Captain W.N.T. Beckett was appointed to relieve Bell on 12 December 1940. Then, on 10 March 1941, the very day that Exeter was due to be recommissioned, Beckett died at Saltash Hospital from complications following exploratory surgery to repair poison gas injuries that he had received earlier in his career. His replacement was Captain Oliver Gordon. To the Far East Upon returning to the fleet, Exeter primarily spent time on 'working up' exercises, however she also conducted several patrols in northern waters, one on which she stopped in Iceland to refuel. On 22 May she departed from Britain (for the last time as it would turn out), escorting Convoy WS-8B to Aden (Yemen) via Freetown and Durban, South Africa (the beginning of which occurred at the very same time as the hunt for the . was taking place). Exeter henceforth became attached to the East Indies Squadron (later redesignated as the Far East Fleet). Exeter then stayed on escort duty in the Indian Ocean (primarily off the coast of Africa) and the northern Arabian Sea (where she visited Bombay, India) until 13 October. On that day Exeter departed Aden for Colombo, British Ceylon) via Bombay, British India arriving on 24 October. Exeter then spent several days in a graving dock and after undocking (on the 29th) conducted exercises off Colombo and visited the Maldives. Upon return to Trincomalee (Ceylon) from the Maldives on 14 November, Exeter then departed for Calcutta on the 16th to cover a small two-ship convoy that left Calcutta for Rangoon (Burma) on the 26th and 27th. After the successful completion of that duty she was then tasked to escort another ship from Calcutta to Rangoon on 6 December. However, during that convoy, on 8 December, Exeter was ordered to urgently proceed to Singapore to reinforce Force Z, as the Pacific War had just begun. Exeter arrived at Singapore during the afternoon of 10 December, too late to support and as they had both been sunk earlier that day, but some of