How old is Ethel Caterham? Find out more about the world’s oldest living person as she completes another year around the sun 

Ethel Caterham, born on 21 August 1909, in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, is now 116 years old, making her the oldest person in Britain and also the world’s oldest validated living person. After the death of Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun who was also 116 years old, in April 2025, she became the oldest person still alive.

PopBase

@PopBase

The world’s oldest living person, Ethel Caterham, turns 116 today.

This year, her family gathered at her care home in Lightwater, Surrey, to celebrate her birthday in a low-key manner. She denied interviews, as she normally does, preferring to spend her day "at her own pace."

As reported by The Guardian, a spokesperson for the care home said:

“Ethel and her family are so grateful for all of the kind messages and interest shown to her as she celebrates her 116th birthday this year."

The spokesperson continued:

“Ethel has again chosen not to give any interviews, preferring to spend the day quietly with her family so that she can enjoy it at her own pace. The king may be her one concession, understandably. Thank you again for your kind wishes on this special day.”

Ethel Caterham's early life

Ethel Caterham was born during the reign of King Edward VII, and Herbert Asquith was the Prime Minister. She was raised in Tidworth, Wiltshire, and was the second youngest of eight siblings.

Ethel Caterham started working as a nanny in India when she was a teenager, and in 1927, she went there alone for three weeks via ship. She then met her future husband, Norman Caterham, at a dinner party in 1931. Norman Caterham was a major in the British Army.

Following their marriage at Salisbury Cathedral, they relocated overseas as a result of Norman's postings. The couple stayed in Hong Kong and Gibraltar. While stationed in Hong Kong, Caterham started a nursery where she taught English, games, and crafts to both British and indigenous children. She and her husband started a family when they were posted in Gibraltar. They had two daughters, Ann and Gem, whom they raised back at home in the United Kingdom.

Ethel Caterham's later life

Back in Surrey, England, life was all good until Norman died in 1976, leaving Ethel a widow for almost half a century. Ann and Gem also passed away before their mother did.

In the early 2000s, her sisters and her daughter Gem died. Ethel continued to drive a car until the year 2006. In the year 2020, Ann died at the age of 82 due to cancer, and even Ethel contracted coronavirus but recovered soon. She continued to play bridge passionately well into her hundreds.

She continues to stay in Ash Vale, Surrey, in a care home. Her family visits her from time to time, and she celebrates her birthdays at the care home itself.

The Mayor of Surrey Heath often joins her for tea. She even receives birthday cards from King Charles. She is among the last living individuals born in the 1900s and the final British subject of King Edward VII.

Ethel Caterham's sisters, Gladys Babilas, lived to be 104, Evelyn Della Collins lived to be 96, and her paternal grandmother, Anne, lived to be 96. Genetics or life well lived?

Life advice from the oldest woman on earth

Ethel Caterham has seen almost everything. She has lived through two World Wars and their aftermath, witnessed women gaining the right to vote not just in the UK but across the world, two pandemics, seen the rise and fall of empires, which includes the Cold War and the fall of Berlin wall, witnessed man stepping on the moon, Nelson Mandela's release, 9/11, Barack Obama winning the elections, Real Madrid winning countless European trophies, the rise of technology, and now the AI takeover.

The woman who has seen it all had simple advice for life: one is to "Say yes to every opportunity because you never know what it will lead to," and "Have a positive mental attitude and have everything in moderation."

In 2020, she stated to the BBC that she handled

"everything in my stride, the highs and lows." She added, "I listen and I do what I like."

Ethel Caterham overtook Charlotte Hughes as the oldest British person ever recorded on April 7, 2025. The title of the oldest living person in the world belongs to Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to the age of 122 years and 164 days.

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback