Marie Drouet (born Marie-Ernestine Juillard, April 17, 1885 in Chartèves – November 19, 1963 in

Bétheny Bétheny () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. Population Personalities * Marie Drouet (1885-1963) died there See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 610 communes in the Fre ...

) was a French heroine of

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 ...

Biography

Born April 17, 1885, in Chartèves in the department of

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

, she is the third daughter of Auguste Juillard and Victorine Marchand. She married Charles Drouet on January 15, 1906, in Bétheny where she lived and ran a grocery store called “Le Pot-au-rouge” on Henri-Gand street. In 1914, Marie Drouet's husband was at the front in

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

. Despite her family charge of four children, she saves many wounded lying on the battlefields around

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. She died on November 19, 1963, in Bétheny, where she continued her job as a grocer.Bernard Cornuaille, ''Femmes d'Exception en Champagne, Marie Drouet,'' Le Papillon Rouge Editeur, 2016 pp. 181–189

WWI civil heroine

Throughout the conflict, avoiding French and German encampments, she transported the wounded from the battlefield to the hospital using her plow and donkey. It also informed the French artillerymen on German positions by means of slips of paper displayed at her windows. Suspected by the French secret service of working for the enemy, the order accompanying the captain who came to arrest her at her home exonerates her. He recognized the person who picked up the wounded, the incident was closed and Marie cleared. It was during this period that she gave birth to her fifth child.

Legacy

Marie received a medal from the city of Reims shortly after the Armistice, after which she fell into anonymity until her death in 1963. The month following her burial, an article in the newspaper ''

L'Union L'Union (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is a suburb of Toulouse, located just to the northeast of the city. History L'Union was founded in the 1790s after the fusion of ''Belbèze'' and ''Cornaudr ...

'' recounted her exploits. In 2014, still in the same newspaper, a second article was devoted to her on the occasion of the hundred years of the First World War. In April 2018,

Val-de-Vesle Val-de-Vesle () is a commune in the Marne department in the Grand Est region in north-eastern France. History The Val-de-Vesle commune was created in 1965 with the merger of the former communes of Courmelois, Thuisy and Wez. See also *Commune ...

dedicated a street to her. In September 2018, on the occasion of Heritage Days, the ''Association of Friends of Old Bétheny'', organized an exhibition dedicated to her at the Bétheny museum to commemorate her rescue of many wounded. In 2018, during the commemorations of the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

, a tribute was paid to her in front of the monument to the dead of Bétheny.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drouet, Marie French women in World War I 1885 births 1963 deaths People from Aisne People from Marne (department)