Gabrielle Biendiné, maiden name Bruno, was born in Le Cateau on 5 May 1880. She was the daughter of Alphonse Bruno, a teacher and head of the school, and Zéma Marie Gérard, also a schoolteacher. His parents were teachers from a very modest, working-class background. She had siblings, but we have no information about them. It’s highly likely that the family followed in their father’s footsteps.
Education and first Bachelor of Science
Gabrielle Bruno completed her secondary education at the collège d’Armentières. In 1894, she was awarded a partial scholarship and attended the school as a government pupil, like 64 other girls in France that year. In 1897, she obtained the two diplomas marking the 5th year of secondary school: the brevet supérieur in June and the diplôme de fin d’études secondaires in July. While these two diplomas enabled young women to work as schoolteachers or headteachers, they did not allow them to teach in girls’ secondary schools. From the start of the 1897 school year, she attended 6th-grade science classes at the Lycée Fénelon in Paris for two years, as attested by a letter from Cécile Provost, the Lycée’s headteacher at the time, confirming Gabrielle Bruno’s attendance. This letter, which certainly would have been required in order for her to enrol at the Faculty of Science, vouched for the young woman’s ‘good conduct’ and ‘intelligent work’.
Thanks to this certificate, she was able to enrol at the Lille Faculty of Science in November 1902, even though she did not have a modern baccalaureate diploma. As an independent candidate, she prepared for the various certificates in zoology, botany and geology. At the time, she was living with her parents on rue du Long-Pot in Fives, likely close to the Paul Bert school, where her father was a teacher. Between November 1903 and July 1905, Gabrielle Bruno successively prepared for and obtained her various certificates of higher education in zoology (November 1903), botany (July 1904) and geology (July 1905). These achievements enabled her to become the first woman to obtain the Bachelor of Science degree from the Faculty in July 1905.
A career in science education
She began to give lessons alongside her studies, as in 1904 she was put in charge of teaching science (9 hours a week) at the girls’ collège in Armentières, at the suggestion of the rector of the education authority. Having obtained her bachelor’s degree in 1905, she was officially appointed ‘professor’ at the same college by a decree dated 11 October. Early inspection reports on Gabrielle Bruno’s teaching style described her as a serious, very active, methodical teacher who knew how to interest her pupils and get them to work. She soon expressed her desire to become head of a girls’ collège in the Nord region. Despite favourable reviews, she was not selected to take over the management of the Calais collège, which was deemed ‘too big’ in view of her limited experience. Finally, on 25 October 1910, she was appointed head of the secondary school for young girls in Péronne. Right from her first inspection, she immediately met with the satisfaction of the education authority, which praised her initiative and prudence in setting up the new school. Despite health concerns, she was totally committed to the school ‘of which she was the heart and soul’, as the rector wrote in his 1913 inspection report. She succeeded in increasing her class sizes, so much so that the authorities considered transforming her school into a collège.
Her personnel file doesn’t give us much information about her work at the outbreak of the First World War. She was awarded the title of ‘officier d’académie’ just before the outbreak of hostilities, and probably remained in Péronne until May 1915, when she was appointed substitute teacher at Amiens Teacher Training College and then at the boys’ collège in Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was probably at the latter school that she met Joseph Adelbert Biendiné, a classics teacher born in Bourdon, Somme, on 2 February 1861. They were married on 25 September 1916 in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The following year, she was appointed ‘professor’ at the town’s girls’ collège.
In 1919, Gabrielle Bruno-Biendiné wrote to the rector asking to be appointed head of the Cambrai girls’ collège, and also requesting her husband’s appointment to the Cambrai boys’ collège, so that they could both carry out their duties ‘without being separated from each other’. Her application for Cambrai was unsuccessful, but she was finally appointed head of the Boulogne-sur-Mer collège on 15 September 15, before being named head of the Abbeville collège two days later. The couple settled in Abbeville, where Joseph Biendiné was appointed to the Collège Courbet.
In 1921, a letter from the mayor to the education inspector expressed a number of reservations about Gabrielle Bruno-Biendiné, notably concerning the reduction in the number of boarders and the fact that her husband was so often present in the school’s administrative office that the girls nicknamed him ‘Mr Headteacher’. However, the inspector was content to repeat the words of advice he had already given her.
In subsequent inspection reports, it is interesting to note that the school inspector repeatedly pointed out weaknesses in the way she managed her staff, and that she was too nervous in her dealings with the local authorities and the public; however, the rector deemed these remarks far too severe, and pointed out that Gabrielle Bruno-Biendiné has always run her schools with great seriousness and determination, and that she had amply proved her worth before the war at the Péronne secondary school. Thanks to her seniority and hard work, she was awarded the title of ‘Officer of Public Education’ in 1925.
In 1925, Gabrielle Bruno-Biendiné applied again for a transfer to Cambrai, to be closer to her parents. As with her previous applications, she was first appointed head of the girls’ collège in Neufchâteau, before being named science ‘teacher’ in Cambrai in October. The couple moved to 8 rue Louis Belmas, right in the centre of Cambrai and close to the school where she taught. In 1927, she applied for a long period of leave to be able to stay with her husband, who had to undergo a serious operation. From the early 1930s onwards, she made numerous requests for time off, as she often had to be absent for health reasons or to look after her husband. He died on 25 June 1931. She continued teaching until her retirement in 1938.
From 1939 onwards, it is difficult to know what became of Gabrielle Bruno-Biendiné, as sources are lacking. She had no children and continued to live in the same house that she had moved to with her husband upon their arrival in Cambrai, until her death on 31 January 1963.
Notes written by Marie Lefèvre.
Sources
Nord Department Archives
Gabrielle Bruno’s birth certificate - 3 ESuppl 519
Faculty of Science student file - 3239 W 15
Register of graduates - 3268 W 81
Lille rectorate personnel file - 2 T 167
Boulogne-sur-Mer Municipal Archives
Marriage certificate of Gabrielle Bruno and Joseph Adelbert Biendiné - E293
Journal
L’Enseignement secondaire des jeunes filles : revue mensuelle / directeur Camille Sée, 1895-01, available on Gallica: gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k124330q/f42.image