Kenneth W. Orchiston

Educated at Lawrence District High School (Dux). Entered Canterbury Agricultural College in 1939, aged 18. Member of 1st Rugby XV. Joynt Scroll debating team leader. Matson Challenge Cup for keenest and most improved student in 1942. Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree conferred in 1942.

Kenneth (Ken) enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1941 while still a student. Training included Wigram where he was awarded his pilot’s ‘wings’. He embarked for the United Kingdom in 1943 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer. He underwent operational training on Wellington, Stirling and Lancaster bombers and was posted to 630 Squadron, Leicestershire. On the night of 18 March 1944, Pilot Officer Orchiston captained a Lancaster bomber for a raid on Frankfurt involving over 800 aircraft. Twenty-five aircraft were lost. Ken Orchiston’s Lancaster was brought down over Belgium and crashed near the French border at Adinkerke. The crew were buried in the military cemetery at nearby Coxyde. Ken was 23. His son Jeffrey attended Lincoln College in the 1960s. Ken’s brother Alan completed a Diploma in Horticulture after the war and a cousin, Hector, was a Lecturer in Soil Science 1947–58.