Ethel Caterham
Ethel Caterham | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ethel May Collins 21 August 1909 (age 115 years, 94 days) Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, England |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse |
Norman Caterham
(m. 1933; died 1976) |
| Children | 2 (both deceased) |
Ethel May Caterham (née Collins; born 21 August 1909) is a British supercentenarian who is the third-oldest living person in the world and the last surviving subject of Edward VII.[1][2] She is additionally the oldest living European since the death of Maria Branyas on 19 August 2024,[3][4] and the second-oldest British person ever after Charlotte Hughes.[5]
Personal life
[edit]Ethel May Caterham was born in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire on 21 August 1909 as the second-youngest of eight children, and was raised in Tidworth.[6] Her sister, Gladys Babilas (1897–2002), lived to 104.[1] In 1927, aged 18, she went on a voyage to British India and worked as an au pair to a military family until she was 21.[6][7] In 1931, after returning to England, she met her future husband Norman Caterham (1905–1976) at a dinner party. They later married in Salisbury Cathedral, where Norman had been a choirboy.[1][6] He later became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps,[7] and the couple lived in Harnham before being stationed in Hong Kong and Gibraltar. While in Hong Kong, Ethel set up a nursery to teach English, crafts and games, and in Gibraltar, the couple had two daughters who they raised back in England.[6] Norman died in 1976.[1]
Caterham drove until she was 97[8] and enjoyed playing contract bridge in her centenarian years.[1] Both of her daughters are now deceased;[8] she had lived in an extension in the home of her second daughter, Anne, until she died of cancer in February 2020, aged 82.[8] Afterwards, Caterham moved into a care home in Ash Vale, Surrey, and later to one in Lightwater.[9]
Health and longevity
[edit]Caterham survived COVID-19 in 2020, aged 111.[5] On her 111th birthday in August 2020, she was visited by the mayor of Surrey Heath,[10] as she had been the oldest living resident of Surrey since January 2019.[11] Shortly before her 111th birthday, she and her granddaughter were interviewed by BBC Radio Surrey, where she said that the secret to her longevity was "taking everything in my stride, the highs and the lows."[10]
On 22 January 2022, following the death of Mary "Mollie" Walker MBE,[12] Caterham became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom.[1][5] On 7 October of the same year, following the death of Rose Eaton, Caterham became the last surviving British subject born during the reign of Edward VII.[1][5][13] Upon turning 115 in August 2024,[9][2] she became the third British person to ever reach this age, and the first since Annie Jennings two decades earlier in 1999.[3]
She is currently the world's third-oldest living person.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Ethel Caterham – Gerontology Research Group". Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Lightwater: Woman celebrates 115th birthday in Surrey care home". BBC News. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ a b Maglov, Stefan (21 August 2024). "Europe's Oldest Person, UK's Ethel Caterham, turns 115". LongeviQuest. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "Lightwater: Ethel, 115, receives congratulations from King". BBC News. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Ethel Caterham". LongeviQuest. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "'Say yes to every opportunity' - 110-year-old reveals secrets to long life". Salisbury Journal. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b McEwan, Fergus (3 September 2015). "Ethel's 106th birthday bash sees mayor of Surrey Heath pay visit". Surrey Live. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Shute, Joe (15 January 2022). "The secret to living past 110, according to Britain's supercentenarians". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b Williamson, Lucy (22 August 2024). "UK's oldest woman celebrates 115th at Surrey home". Surrey Live. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ a b SCC (24 August 2020). "Surrey's oldest resident Ethel, celebrates 111th birthday". Surrey News. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Albano, Rollan (22 August 2023). "Ethel Caterham, United Kingdom's Oldest Living Person, turned 114". LongeviQuest. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "The Amazingly Long Life of a Remarkable Lady". Peppard News. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Tweet by Benjamin Butterworth". X (formerly Twitter). 18 October 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "World Supercentenarian Rankings List – Gerontology Research Group". Retrieved 30 August 2024.