In spite of the finding of liability, Wake-Walker continued to rise in the Royal Navy. Promoted to rear-admiral in 1939, he was involved in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. Ships under his command played a key role in hunting the Bismarck in 1942, and he was heavily involved in creating the flotilla of landing craft needed for Operation Torch in North Africa, and later the Normandy landings on D-Day.