Ethel Caterham

BIOGRAPHY

Caterham was born on 21 August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, England, and grew up in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England. She was the penultimate child of eight born to her parents. In 1927, at the age of 18, she gained employment as a nanny to a British family living in India, and travelled independently for three weeks via ship to start work. She worked there for three years before returning to England.

In 1931, Caterham met her future husband Norman, a major in the British Army, at a dinner party. The couple were married in Salisbury Cathedral, where Norman was a choirboy, and they lived together in Harnham before they were stationed in Hong Kong and Gibraltar.

While living in Hong Kong, Caterham started a nursery for local and British children where she taught English, games, and crafts. While in Gibraltar, she and her husband started their family, eventually raising two girls back in the UK. She was widowed in 1976.

Caterham has lived in Surrey, England, for more than half a century. She drove until she was 97 years old and was a regular bridge player in her centenarian years. One of her sisters, Gladys Babilas, lived to be 104 years old.

In 2020, at the age of 110, Caterham contracted COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic. However, she successfully recovered, making her one of the oldest known survivors of the disease.

Caterham celebrated her 111th birthday in August 2020 with a tea party and a visit from the Mayor of Surrey Heath. A week beforehand, she was interviewed along with her granddaughter on BBC Radio Surrey. She currently lives in a care home in Ash Vale, Surrey.

RECOGNITION

Caterham became the oldest known living person in the county of Surrey aged 109, following the death of fellow 109-year-old Kay Hurley on 17 January 2019. She became the oldest Surrey resident ever in August 2021 after surpassing the age of Ellen Watson.

On 29 September 2020, Caterham surpassed the age of World War I veteran Harry Patch to enter the top 100 oldest residents of the United Kingdom in history.

Caterham became the oldest known living person in the United Kingdom following the 22 January 2022 death of 112-year-old Mollie Walker.

In August 2022, Caterham celebrated her 113th birthday, making her the first person in the United Kingdom to reach this age since Olive Boar in 2017. The following year, she became the first Briton since Ethel Lang in 2014 to celebrate their 114th birthday.