David Mercer MacDougall

Who was David Mercer MacDougall?

David Mercer MacDougall was a Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong between 1945 and 1949.

In 1928, while a Cadet Officer, MacDougall was seconded to the Colonial Office, and posted to Hong Kong. By 1941 he was part of the Ministry of Information in Hong Kong. The Chinese Nationalists had worked undercover with the British Police and Intelligence Services since the Japanese invasion of Southern China in 1938, running a network of Nationalist agents which Admiral Chan Chak had operated. These helped in keeping the local Chinese population on-side, controlling the Triad gangs and identifying Japanese sympathisers. During the Battle of Hong Kong he worked directly with Admiral Chan Chak who had been brought in to assist in matters of the Chinese public morale and civil order within the British colony. After an 18-day defence Hong Kong fell on Christmas Day, 1941. In the final hours Chan Chak and MacDougall with sixty-five British, Chinese and Danish intelligence, naval and marine personnel made a dramatic breakout in five small torpedo boats from the invading army. Though wounded they succeeded in escaping through Japanese-occupied territory, eventually making it to Chungking. MacDougall travelled on to Burma from there.