On 18 April 1911, he
had been cleaning the automated mechanism that turned the light but before he could put
it back together correctly, he suddenly became unwell (appendicitis) and took to his bed in great pain. The nearest doctor was several
miles away and his wife dared not leave his side, plus she also had four
children to look after. Two other older children were away, one in
hospital, another at sea.
Her husband died later that day. With dusk approaching, she kept vigil with her husband's body but it was also vital the light was lit and kept turning. Although Eugene could not put the mechanism back together, she knew enough about the timing of the light and, with the help of her older children, aged 8 and 10, she managed to light the lamp, and then manually push it around, keeping it going all night. If the light had remained unlit, who knows how many vessels may have come to grief in those dangerous waters off the coast of Brittany.
In spite of her
bravery, Eugenie Matelot was not entitled to immediately receive her husband’s
wages nor was she eligible for any pension as his widow, meaning
she and her children were left destitute. A local man, a tax
collector, was so outraged by this that he wrote a letter to the French newspaper Le Figaro to ask
for help for the family and the story spread like wildfire.
Newspapers tell the story with variations and it seems that an amount of money equivalent today to around 60,000 Euros was raised. This was definitely a case where getting the media involved created justice for
Eugenie and her family.
On 3 September 1911, the British Consul and a representative of Lloyd's attended on Mme. Matelot and presented her with a Lloyd's Medal for Saving Life at Sea.
Although perhaps still remembered in Brittany, Eugenie Matelot is another woman forgotten to history elsewhere even though she went on to be keeper in her own right at other lighthouses in
the region at Kernevel and Keroman in Lorient. She died in 1935.
One English version of her story can be read via TROVE in the Adelaide Evening Journal of 22 July 1911.
These French websites give more details (Google translate will help) and all images are from them.
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| Lighthouse much the same today.Copyright |
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