Ken was born in 1909 in South Africa to Latvia born parents Myer and Ida nee Kadish. Research is ongoing into his family background.

Ken was the pilot of Wellington HF129 which departed RAF Chivenor on night operational anti-submarine patrol. On the return the aircraft crashed at 02.54 hours on the bank of the River Taw about one mile east of the RAF Chivenor runway. The aircraft made a normal circuit and on approach it overshot. The engines were opened up, appeared to respond correctly, and the aircraft gained height to about 100 feet, and then sank rapidly and crashed. Four of the crew members were killed and one survived the crash.

The crew members of HF129 were:
W/Op, A/G, Richard James Harris, 415530, RNZAF.
Pilot, Ken Lentin.
2nd Pilot, Frederick Henry Phillips, 1320115.
W/Op, A/G, Warrant Officer Robert Douglas Ward, RAAF, 421648, survived.
W/Op, A/G, Warrant Officer John Lugton Warne, RAAF, 410764.
Nav, Warrant Officer Cedric Milford Wood, RAAF, 412255.

An enquiry into the accident reported: ‘It appears that the accident occurred as a result of bad cockpit drill, with the flaps being raised before the undercarriage was fully retracted.’ National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/44/152