Marie Léonie Vanhoutte, also known by the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Charlotte Lameron (1888 – 1967) was a

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

fighter and secret agent during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

who worked at the French-Belgium border.

Early life

Marie Léonie Vanhoutte was born on 13 January 1888 in

Roubaix Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in a house on Rue de la Vigne. At the start of

, she was a nurse trainee at the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, but she did not stay long at that role since she did not want to treat the German soldiers medically. She travelled to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

to identify the places of passage for resistance networks for the French and the British to cross German lines. In August 1914 Vanhoutte was instrumental at planting ambulances and playing the role of "Charlotte Lameron". There is varying information about her character role, with some sources state "Charlotte" worked as a cheesemonger, but others called her a Red Cross nurse.

Alice Network

She was put in contact with

Louise de Bettignies Louise Marie Jeanne Henriette de Bettignies (; 15 July 1880 - 27 September 1918) was a French secret agent who spied on the Germans for the British during World War I using the pseudonym of Alice Dubois. She was arrested in October 1915 and imp ...

(also known as "Alice Dubois") and they met at Prouvost-Masurel Castle, in

Mouvaux Mouvaux (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry Twin towns – sister cities Mouvaux is twinned with: * Buckingham, England, United Kingdom * Hal ...

. In the spring of 1915, Vanhoutte started to help Bettignies in the Alice Network, also known as the Alice Circle, expand the espionage circuit to the nearby towns of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

and

Saint-Quentin Saint-Quentin may refer to: Places Canada *Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick * Saint-Quentin Parish, New Brunswick * Saint-Quentin Island, in Trois-Rivières, in Québec France * Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in the Aisne department * Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines ...

. The networks were geographic areas, divided by sectors, to identify train passages, German troop movements, the location of ammunition stores and information regarding weaponry. They would write reports, code messages and transmit the messages through

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Vanhoutte was able to travel freely because of the ambulances and couriered the information to each location. On 24 September 1915, Vanhoutte was arrested, was sent to the Saint-Gilles prison in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and was sentenced to 15 years. The Germans used subterfuge to force Vanhoutte to identify Louise de Bettignies from photographs, which eventually resulting in Bettignies's arrest. When World War I ended in 1918, Vanhoutte was freed from prison. Vanhoutte married the writer Antoine Rédier on 19 July 1934 in Paris. Attendees at their wedding included

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II, as well as a high ranking member of the Vichy France, Vichy regime. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educate ...

André Tardieu André Pierre Gabriel Amédée Tardieu (; 22 September 1876 – 15 September 1945) was three times Prime Minister of France (3 November 1929 – 17 February 1930; 2 March – 4 December 1930; 20 February – 10 May 1932) and a dominant figure of ...

and

Henri Gouraud Henri Gouraud (17 November 1867 - 16 September 1946) was a French army general. He played a central role in the colonization of French Africa and the Levant. During World War I, he fought in major battles such as those of the Argonne, the Dard ...

Death and legacy

Vanhoutte died on 4 May 1967 in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

. She is buried in Hauteville-sur-Mer, where the village square is dedicated to her honour. In 1937, a film by

Léon Poirier Léon Poirier (25 August 1884 – 27 June 1968) was a French film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his silent films from 1913 onwards. He directed some 25 films between 1913 and 1949. His most famous film today is '' Verdun ...

featured a Vanhoutte character, ''Soeurs d'Armes: Film'' (English: ''Sisters in Arms: Film''). He also published a book related to the film. The 2017 historical fiction novel '' The Alice Network'' also featured a fictionalized version of Vanhoutte as a supporting character.

Awards

* Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1927) *

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

(1919) * Officer of the

(1966) * Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1918)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanhoutte, Marie Léonie 1888 births 1967 deaths People from Roubaix French women in World War I French spies World War I spies People convicted of spying French people imprisoned in Germany Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Legion of Honour

Early life

Alice Network

Death and legacy

Awards

Further reading

References