 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.MacDougall and Chan were among a total of sixty eight British, Chinese and Danish intelligence, naval and marine personnel saved from the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong by a dramatic break-out in five small torpedo boats on Christmas Day 1941.Eventually making it to Chungking, MacDougall then travelled on to Burma.