Royal Air Force heroine who helped defeat the Nazis has died aged 102
A BRAVE Royal Air Force heroine who helped defeat the Nazis has died at the age of 102.
Kate Orchard worked with both the RAF and the Indian Air Force in World War Two.
Her roles included plotting aircraft targets and sending signals to the air warning systems during 24-hour watches.
And aged 99, Kate took to the skies in a glider to raise money for the Help for Heroes charity.
In 1942, Kate, whose father was chief telegraph inspector on the Indian railways, joined the Women’s Auxiliary Corps.
She rose up the ranks to Warrant Officer First Class at the Indian Air Defence Centre, Madras.
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Kate met her husband Bill in India before they moved to the UK.
The couple settled in Bill’s home in Cornwall, where she lived for the rest of her life.
Her son Bentley said: “Through her dynamic personality she touched so many people in so many different ways.
“She was exceptional and an inspiration to the very end.”
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