2018Louise de Bettignies (Philatelic Document) - Collectibles

Louise de Bettignies was born on July 15, 1880 in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux in a noble family, impoverished by financial setbacks, but which allowed her to study at the end of which she will master four languages ​​(French, English, German, Italian) In early 1915, she began under the pseudonym Alice Dubois and runs the network Alice (Ramble network for the English) on behalf of the British army and the Secret Intelligence Service. The network has more than 80 agents in the Lille area, a hub of the German army, then Cambrai, Valenciennes, Saint-Quentin. Based in Belgium, Louise centralizes information on the operations of the German army and ensures the transmission of documents to the British. On October 21, 1915, she falls into a trap. Sentenced to life in prison, she is serving her sentence near Cologne, where she died on 27 September 1918 as a result of pleurisy. It is estimated that it saved the lives of more than a thousand British soldiers. Her spying activities earned her the nickname of Joan of Arc North. On March 16, 1920, she posthumously received the Cross of the Legion of Honor, the 14-18 War Cross with Palm, the British Military Medal and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.