In 1942 the Hong Kong Police were sworn in as auxiliary troops. MacPherson's rank was Lance Sgt. During the Japanese occupation he was taken prisoner and was interned at the Stanley POW Camp where he met and married Doris Brooks WW2: Hong Kong, Singapore.

In 1941-42 the Hong Kong Police were sworn in as auxiliary troops. MacPherson's rank was Lance Sgt. During the Japanese occupation he was taken prisoner and was interned at the Stanley POW Camp where he met and married Doris Brooks (the daughter of Henry Tom Brooks).

post-WW2: Hong Kong Police (until early-1950s) then appointed (circa 1955) to the Police Force in Kenya during the 'Maumau rebellion'.

Retired from Police Force and to emigrated to New Zealand and worked as the first superintendent of Auckland Harbour Bridge.

"D. G. McPherson - When he retired as bridge superintendent in 1978, McPherson ended a rich career which had seen him swap gunfire with bank robbers and pirates in Hong Kong; he had earlier led volunteer raids behind Japanese lines in World War II to help civilians escape the Japanese advance; he was entangled in gun battles during China's communist struggles; he became director of criminal intelligence in Hong Kong and then transferred to Kenya where he helped check the Mau Mau uprising. His abiding memory of the bridge was the car that skidded and rolled on to its roof as it approached the toll plaza. As it came to a rest, a hand emerged from the upturned vehicle, holding a 20c piece."

From: Paul Lewis, "Auckland's 175th anniversary: The bridge that nearly sailed away", New Zealand Herald, January 31st, 2015

(http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11394299)