On 18 May 1940, Hélène Leune died during a bombardment in Vitry-le-François while serving as a nurse with surgical ambulances. Born in Constantinople in 1890, this French citizen navigated a career that spanned the roles of historical researcher, frontline war correspondent, and dedicated Red Cross volunteer across two major international conflicts.
Academic Foundation and Balkan Reporting
After graduating from the Sorbonne’s faculty of history in 1909, she married Jean Victor Charles Edmond Leune in Paris on 7 February 1911. Her journalistic career gained momentum during the First Balkan War between 1912 and 1913. As a correspondent for L'Illustration and Le Figaro, she accompanied the Greek Army from Larissa to Thessaloniki and later to Preveza. These experiences were documented in the collaborative volume Dans les Balkans, 1912–1913, which captured the military realities observed in the field.
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In August 1914, she began volunteer nursing in Cambrai. Following a five-month period of captivity under German forces, she returned to France and published her experiences in Tels qu'ils sont: Notes d'une infirmière de la Croix-Rouge in 1915. During the subsequent years, she rejoined her husband in Greece, serving in hospitals in Thessaloniki and Moudros. Her service to soldiers suffering from typhus earned her the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille des Épidémies.
Interwar Public Life
Beginning in 1920, she adopted the pseudonym Lène Candilly for her continued writing and conference engagements. She worked as a secretary for Paul Bourget and promoted French culture as an Alliance Française representative, touring locations including Belgrade, Bucharest, Egypt, and England. In 1927, she reported on the Delphic festival, covering performances of ancient Greek tragedy and dance for Le Figaro and Le Gaulois.
Fast facts
- Born: 1890, Constantinople
- Died: 18 May 1940, Vitry-le-François
- Education: Sorbonne, 1909
- Notable Decorations: Croix de Guerre, Médaille des Épidémies
- Marriage: Jean Victor Charles Edmond Leune, 1911
- Daughter: Irène Leune, born 1917
- Primary Fields: Nursing, Journalism, History
Questions readers ask
What pseudonym did she use in her later career?
From 1920 onwards, she published and spoke under the name Lène Candilly.
Did she serve in more than one war?
Yes, she worked as a journalist during the First Balkan War and as a nurse in both major conflicts occurring during her adult life.
