HMS Effingham was a  Hawkins class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was commissioned at Portsmouth in 1925, having had her construction halted for several years following the end of the First World War in 1918. She was named after Lord Howard of Effingham, one of the leaders of the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1587.

She had a displacement of 12,190 tons, was 605 feet long with a 65 ft beam, and carried a complement of 690 officers and men. As originally designed she carried seven 7.5" guns, along with anti-aircraft weaponry and six torpedo tubes. After the end of the First World War her construction was a low priority and she was the last of the class to be completed, in 1925. (From Wikipedia)

Effingham served in the Asiatic cruiser squadron from completion till a 1932 recall to the UK. Alternating around the Asian bases at Hong Kong, Singapore and Trincomalee, Effingham was used as the flagship. The high freeboard made them very weatherly ships and they were used on the sea lanes as patrol cruisers.

On returning to the UK the ship was used to take supplies and relief workers from the UK to British Honduras, staying to provide electric power to the relief port, Belize. Returning from that duty in late 1934 Effingham was taken in hand for conversion (the last of her class to be converted). The single 7.5" being removed and fitted into triple turrets, the ships layout gave 1 turret forward and two aft. Three twin 4.5" per side provided the heavy anti-aircraft battery while 2 pounder multiple mountings and 20mm guns made up the light AA.