Western Morning News (Saturday)
War hero Kate, 99, aiming high with fundraising flight
A99-YEAR-OLD former World War II RAF plotter and teller is to take to the skies over Cornwall on a glider flight to raise money for Armed Forces charity Help for Heroes.
Kate Orchard, who lives in Camborne, Cornwall, will take flight on Friday April 15 at the Seahawk Gliding Club, RNAS Culdrose, near Helston.
She said: “I had a flight a few years ago, where I was allowed to take the controls for a while, which was most enjoyable. And I’m looking forward to repeating the experience while raising money for Help for Heroes.
“I believe passionately that it’s very important that all ex-military personnel are looked after, especially those unfortunate enough to have physical or psychological injuries.”
Kate was born into a large AngloIndian family of 13 brothers and sisters, with her father working as a chief telegraph inspector on the Indian railways.
In 1941 India created the Women’s Auxiliary Corps (India), recruiting women to help the war effort and 20-year-old Kate and two of her sisters volunteered. A year later she was working in the Air Defence Centre, Number 5 Filter Room, alongside both the RAF and the Indian Air Force, as a plotter/ teller on 24-hour watches, plotting aircraft targets and sending signals to the air warning systems.
She rose to the rank of Warrant Officer First Class and became a trainer of new plotters. She also met her husband, Bill, during the war who was serving in India with the Royal Artillery before he was, later, sent to Burma. Having married in 1944, after the cessation of hostilities, in 1946, the couple moved to Bill’s home in Cornwall.
She wears proudly her 1939-45 Service and India Service Medals when attending VE Day and VJ Day Remembrance Day services and was present at Bentley Priory in 2015 for the Battle of Britain 75th anniversary commemorations.
She was also invited to attend the recent annual Battle of Britain Sunday service, at Westminster Abbey, which was also attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, the Prime Minister and many other dignitaries – and she enjoyed a friendly chat with their Royal Highnesses at a reception following the event.
In recognition of her past service to the UK (Overseas) in the Second World War, as one of the WAAF personnel operating the Dowding System, she was made a Veteran Member of the Association of Royal Airforce Fighter Control Officers.
Help for Heroes’ Area fundraising manager John Carpenter said: “Kate is a truly amazing lady, full of spirit – but I suppose we should expect nothing less of the generation that served us so well during our darkest days.”
To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Kate-Orchard