Ethel, born in the reign of King Edward VII, is celebrating her birthday ‘quietly’
The oldest living person in the world, UK woman Ethel Caterham, has celebrated her 116th birthday. Ethel, who lives in a care home in Surrey, became the world’s oldest living person in April following the death of Sister Inah Canbarro Lucas in Brazil.
Ethel, the last surviving citizen of King Edward VII, was born on August 21, 1909 – three years before the Titanic sank and eight years before the Russian Revolution.
Ethel has witnessed four coronations, lived through two world wars and survived the Covid pandemic. She has lived in Surrey for more than 50 years and currently lives in a care home in Lightwater where she even has a garden named after her.
Born on August 21, 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Ethel was raised in nearby Tidworth as the second youngest of eight children. Turning 18 years old in 1927, she travelled alone by ship for three weeks to India to become an au pair to a military family in the region then still ruled by the British Empire.
Returning to the UK four years later in 1931, she met her future husband Norman Caterham at a dinner party and they were married at a ceremony at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933. Norman became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps and the couple originally lived in Harnham, not far from where they married, before Norman was stationed in the former British colonies of Hong Kong and Gibraltar.
During her time in Hong Kong, Mrs Caterham set up a nursery where she taught English and played games with the children. The Caterhams began their family in Gibraltar and decided to return to the UK to raise their two daughters. Norman died in 1976.
Being born in 1909, she would have been 30 years old when the Second World War began. She would have been 44 years old during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
Ethel did not stopping driving until she was aged 97, and says her secret to a long life is “never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like”.
On her 115th birthday last year in August, she celebrated the event alongside staff and residents at the Hallmark Lakeview care home. To mark the occasion, the care home renamed a section of their garden ‘Ethel’s Garden’ and revamped her patio area with new outdoor furniture, potted plants, a water feature and windchimes.
General manager at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home, Inder Hanzra said: “There’s nothing Ethel enjoys more than sitting in the sunshine and listening to the birds.”
Ethel’s three granddaughters Kate Henderson, Julia Pauling, Lucy Robinson regularly visit her accompanied by the 115-year-old’s five great-grandchildren.
BBC Radio Surrey spoke to Ethel in 2020, the year she survived Covid pandemic, where she said: “I’ve taken everything in my stride, the highs and lows. I’ve been all over the world, and I’ve ended up in this lovely home, where everyone is falling over themselves for me, giving me everything I want.”
A statement released by her 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. Ethel will spend the day quietly with her family so that she can enjoy it at her own pace. Thank you again for your kind wishes on this special day.”