Charles Theophilus Hahn, born into the English upper middle classes in
1870, was a cleric who worked in industrial towns in Yorkshire, in
Southern Africa as a missionary and as an army chaplain in World War
One. He loved adventure, travel and nature, and promised himself that he
would have a jolly time. He left journals, sketches and watercolours
which are the basis for his story, written by John Odling-Smee. The
idioms and expressions in the journals recall the times in which he was
writing. Many of the watercolours were inspired by the wildflowers and
scenery of Africa. Taken together, his writings and paintings provide a
fascinating picture of an interesting life in England and Southern
Africa in turbulent times.