He was briefly Vicar of Pontefract, but a severe attack of malaria limited his effective time there.

In November 1917, in response to the anti-German sentiment in the country, he changed his name from Hahn to Headley, the name of the village where he grew up.

[3] His "parishes" were very large, and he spent much time away from home, usually travelling on unreliable trains and railway tracks.

[citation needed] He returned to England in 1928 to a position as Public Preacher in the Diocese of Chelmsford.

He lived in the village of Hutton, Essex, where he renamed his house Newlands to remind him of his time in South Africa.

[citation needed] He was an enthusiastic amateur artist, with a special interest in painting wildflowers and landscapes.

In Zululand, he painted a remarkable series of about 300 watercolours of wildflowers which so impressed two botanists at the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens in Cape Town that they wrote an article about them.

Marion shared her husband's love of travel, nature and Africa, and accompanied him in all his postings.