The 99-year-old Cornish WW2 veteran who has completed a glider flight for charity

  • Watch Kathy Wardle's report


A 99-year-old war veteran has taken to the skies over Cornwall on a glider flight to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Kate Orchard, from Camborne, was launched into the sky using an Aero-Tow, which sees the glider towed to around 2,000ft by a motor glider.

She was accompanied by an instructor from the Seahawk Gliding Club, which is based at RNAS Culdrose in Helston.

Speaking after her 20-minute flight, in which she took over the controls, Kate said she "didn't want it to end".

"I wanted to keep going and I've had a wonderful instructor, absolutely wonderful," she told ITV News West Country.

"I would do this over and over again - maybe for my 101st birthday."

Kate Orchard on the airfield at RNAS Culdrose Credit: ITV News

Kate's charity challenge has so far raised over £2,500 for Help for Heroes.

Kate told ITV that as a veteran of World War Two, the charity means a lot to her.

"They (veterans) sacrifice so much for us, the least we could do is to help them out and this is why I chose Help for Heroes to help those who sacrifice, some of them their lives, some of them their bodies and I would do it over and over again."

Kate spent her youth in India with her father working as a chief telegraph inspector on the Indian railways.

In 1941 India created the Women's Auxiliary Corps, recruiting women to help the war effort and 20-year-old Kate volunteered.

Kate Orchard taking off at RNAS Culdrose Credit: ITV News

A year later she was working in the Air Defence Centre as a plotter/teller, 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 met her husband Bill during the war and in 1946 the couple moved to Bill's home in Cornwall.

Kate proudly wears her 1939-45 Service and India Service Medals and was present at Bentley Priory in 2015 for the Battle of Britain 75th anniversary commemorations.

She was invited to attend the recent annual Battle of Britain Sunday service at Westminster Abbey and she was also made a Veteran Member of the Association of Royal Airforce Fighter Control Officers.

Kate Orchard in a glider at RNAS Culdrose Credit: ITV News

Help for Heroes' 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.

"For her to do this to help support the service personnel who followed in her footsteps is a wonderful gesture. Our veterans inspire us on a daily basis and, I'm sure, in turn, they will be inspired by this remarkable lady."