From November 1558 to January 1559 he was appointed Vice-Admiral of the Narrow Seas and charged with protecting England's trade interests in the area. He took part in the Battle of Gravelines (1558) whilst commanding the Narrow Seas Squadron on approach to Calais he observed the French Army troop lines and maneuvered his ships close inshore, thus running the risk of beaching he then opened fire on them; his actions were personally noted in a letter from the Queen thanking him and granted him a pension. Malyn was probably the only naval commander to achieve some level of significance during the Queen Mary's Anglo-French Wars of (1557–59) as part of the wider Italian War of (1551-1559).