Marie Léonie Vanhoutte

Marie Léonie Vanhoutte, also known by the pseudonym Charlotte Lameron (1888 – 1967) was a French secret agent during World War I who worked at the French-Belgium border.

Early life Marie Léonie Vanhoutte was born on 13 January 1888 in Roubaix, France, in a house on Rue de la Vigne.

At the start of World War I, she was a nurse trainee at the Red Cross, but she did not stay long at that role She travelled to Flanders to identify the places of passage for resistance networks for the French and the British to cross German lines. 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 (also known as "Alice Dubois") and they met at Prouvost-Masurel Castle, in Mouvaux. They would write reports, code messages and transmit the messages through Belgium and the Netherlands. Attendees at their wedding included Maxime Weygand, André Tardieu and Henri Gouraud. where the village square is dedicated to her honour.

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 (1927) Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (1919) Officer of the Legion of Honour (1966) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1918)