 He was a field umpire in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1920s.Orchard was an outstanding cricketer taking 264 wickets at 12.6 between 1903–1936 in the Geelong Cricket Association.In 1918 at Ypres he was awarded the Military Cross for "the efficient manner in which he (Captain Orchard) carried out his task of reorganisation and his cheerfulness under depressing circumstances that earned for him the Military Cross."