Linked By Tragedy

I read with great interest the story on your website ‘My great aunt is the ghost nun who haunts Croydon’ ( tinyurl.com/wdytyaghost-croydon) because my aunt Eugénie Martin was one of the nuns who perished on that plane. I was five years old when we learnt about the crash. She was my dad’s younger sister, and I have many details about her life.

She was French and studied at the Filles de la Sagesse in St Laurent sur Sèvre (Vendée) congregation. After attending nursing school she travelled to England to learn English before going to Nyasaland to meet two of her aunts, also from the Filles de la Sagesse, to help them at a lepers’ house.

It is nice to come across a great niece of one of the three nuns who tragically lost their lives. Marie Francoise Strauss (née Martin), by email

EDITOR REPLIES:

Tragic events like this leave a lasting impression on families, and I’m glad that you enjoyed reading Helen Brooks’ account on our website. The article was also published in the magazine in March 2021.