Explained: Why a 99-year-old WWII veteran is flying a plane again and what's her link to India?

A 99-year-old World War II veteran from Cornwall recently took to the skies in a glider.

Kate Orchard took off from the Seahawk Gliding Club near Helston and was watched on by her family on the ground.

The former warrant officer said being able to do this at her age made her feel she had achieved something, the BBC reported.

#WW2 veteran Kate Orchard turns 100 in a few days - today she went up in a glider to raise funds for @HelpforHeroes - looks like she had a great time in the skies above @RNASCuldrose!

More at #Breakfast with @ChurchfieldJE on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/nQ4S1sSBac

— BBC Cornwall (@BBCCornwall) April 18, 2022

Here is why the RAF veteran took to the skies again:

The RAF plotter was raising money for a charity named Help for Heroes in doing the flight.

During WWII from 1941 to 1945, Orchard had the responsibility to record sightings of enemy aircraft allowing friendly forces to be directed against them.

“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,” she said, as quoted by the BBC.

As the news of her daredevil fundraiser adventure reached far and wide, Orchard was inundated with cards, calls and gifts from all around.

“I’ve had lots of telephone calls and the doorbell’s gone six or seven times. I’ve had lots of parcels and flowers, and even a nice big bottle of champagne and chocolates from the RAF in Melbourne, Australia. It’s ever so good of them,” she said, as quoted by Cornwall Live.

Orchard’s India connection

According to the BBC, Kate Orchard was born into a large Anglo-Indian family of 13 brothers and sisters, with her father working as a chief telegraph inspector on the Indian railways.

When India created the Women’s Auxiliary Corps (India) in 1941, then 20-year-old Orchard and two of her sisters volunteered.

A year later she was working as a plotter/teller on 24-hour watches in the Air Defence Centre in Madras, alongside both the RAF and the Indian Air Force.

She rose to the rank of Warrant Officer First Class and became a trainer of new plotters.

According to the BBC report, 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.

After the war, in 1946, the couple moved to her husband’s home in Cornwall.

In 2013, Orchard was featured in the Battle of Britain museum.

A BBC report said that Orchard features in films at the £9.5m site at Bentley Priory, north London. With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .