How Ethel Caterham Made It to 115 With One Effortless Daily Practice
Most people spend their lives chasing complex formulas for health and happiness. We obsess over diets, exercise regimens, supplements, and sleep schedules. We download apps to track our steps and monitor our heart rates. We read books promising to add years to our lives if we just follow their elaborate protocols.
Yet in a quiet care home in Surrey, England, a 115-year-old woman has reduced longevity to something far simpler. Her secret has nothing to do with what she eats or how much she exercises. It has everything to do with how she chooses to move through the world and interact with the people in it.
Ethel Caterham became the world’s oldest living person on April 30, 2025. At 115 years and 252 days old, she inherited the title following the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who passed away at 116. Both LongeviQuest and Guinness World Records confirmed her status, making her the first Briton to hold the distinction since Anna Williams claimed it back in 1987.
But Caterham did not set out to break records. She did not spend her life preparing for global recognition. When asked about the attention surrounding her 115th birthday in August 2024, she expressed genuine confusion about why everyone made such a fuss.
Her life story reads like a historical novel spanning continents, world wars, and more than a century of human progress. And at its center sits a woman whose approach to existence might be the most countercultural advice anyone could offer in our age of endless optimization.
Her Secret? Never Argue and Do What You Like
When interviewers ask supercentenarians about their longevity secrets, responses vary. Some credit red wine. Others mention daily walks or particular foods. A few shrug and attribute their long lives to genetics or luck.
Caterham’s answer stands apart in its elegant simplicity. “Never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like,” she shared when asked about the secret to her long life.
Consider the wisdom packed into those twelve words. She listens. She does not engage in conflict. And then she does what she wants anyway. Her philosophy combines respect for others with an unwavering commitment to her own path. She hears people out without feeling compelled to change their minds or defend her position. Then she proceeds according to her own judgment.
In a 2020 interview with BBC Radio Surrey, Caterham expanded on her attitude toward life’s inevitable challenges. She spoke about taking everything in stride and accepting both the highs and lows with equanimity. Her approach suggests a woman who never wasted energy on battles she did not need to fight or emotions that did not serve her well-being.
Additional wisdom came through in an interview with the Salisbury Journal, where she encouraged people to say yes to every opportunity because you never know what it might lead to. She advocated for a positive mental attitude and moderation in all things.
None of her advice requires expensive equipment, special training, or professional guidance. Anyone can adopt her philosophy starting today. Perhaps that is exactly why most people will ignore it in favor of more complicated solutions.
Born in the Final Year of Edward VII’s Reign
Understanding who Ethel Caterham is requires traveling back more than a century to the Hampshire countryside. She entered the world on August 21, 1909, in Shipton Bellinger, a small village near the Wiltshire border. Her parents raised her in nearby Tidworth as the second youngest of eight children.
Born during the reign of King Edward VII, Caterham now carries a distinction no other living person can claim. She remains the last surviving subject of that monarch, whose reign ended with his death in May 1910. Following the recent deaths of other supercentenarians, she also became the last living person born in the 1900s decade.
Her 115 years have encompassed events that most people only encounter in history books. She was a toddler when the Titanic sank in 1912. World War One erupted when she was five years old. She lived through the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, and World War II. She witnessed the rise of automobiles, airplanes, television, computers, and smartphones.
Longevity appears to run in her family. Her older sister, Gladys Babila, lived to 104 years and 78 days, passing away in March 2002. Yet even Gladys could not have imagined that her younger sister would still be alive more than two decades later, holding court as the oldest human being on the planet.
At 18, She Sailed Alone to India for Adventure
Young Ethel Collins possessed something that would define her entire life: a hunger for adventure and new experiences. In 1927, at just 18 years old, she accepted a position as a nanny for a British military family stationed in India. Most young women of her era never left their home counties. She boarded a ship alone and embarked on a three-week voyage to the other side of the world.
Her time in India left lasting impressions. She recalled being waited on by servants and participating in both British traditions, like Christmas celebrations, and Indian customs, such as Tiffin and Tea. For four years, she worked as a nanny between India and England, absorbing experiences that would shape her worldview forever.
Her willingness to say yes to that opportunity at 18 set a pattern she would follow throughout her life. Adventure called, and she answered. Fear of the unknown never stopped her from pursuing what interested her.
A Cathedral Wedding and Life Across Continents
Romance found Ethel at a dinner party in 1931 after she returned to England. Norman Caterham, a major in the British Army, captured her attention. Two years later, they married at Salisbury Cathedral, the same church where Norman had served as a choirboy during his youth.
Norman rose through military ranks to become a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps. His career took the couple across the globe. After their time in Harnham near Salisbury, they received postings to Hong Kong and Gibraltar, adding more stamps to Ethel’s already impressive passport.
Hong Kong allowed Ethel to build something of her own. She established a nursery where she taught English, games, and crafts to both local children and children from British families. Her entrepreneurial spirit and love of children found expression in an institution that made a difference in young lives.
Gibraltar brought another chapter of adventure before the couple returned to settle in the Surrey area of England. They raised two daughters, Gem and Anne, and built a life rooted in the community where Ethel would eventually spend more than five decades.
Norman passed away in 1976, leaving Ethel a widow at 66. She had already lived what most would consider a full life. Another 49 years would follow.
Still Driving at 97 and Beating COVID at 110
After Norman’s death, Ethel inherited his Triumph Dolomite. She kept driving that car until age 97, maintaining her independence and mobility well into her tenth decade. Picture this woman, born before the Model T became ubiquitous, still navigating Surrey roads in her late nineties.
Her active mind found expression in bridge games that continued into her centenarian years. Social connection and mental engagement remained priorities even as she outlived most of her contemporaries.
In 2020, a pandemic swept the globe. COVID-19 proved fatal for millions, with elderly populations facing the greatest risk. Ethel Caterham contracted the virus at 110 years old. Medical professionals and her family must have feared the worst.
She recovered, earning recognition as one of the oldest known survivors of the disease. Her immune system, forged across 110 years and countless illnesses, proved stronger than a virus that brought the world to its knees.
Loss has marked her later years. Both daughters preceded her in death. Gem passed away in the early 2000s. Anne died of cancer at 82 in February 2020. Outliving your children represents one of life’s most profound sorrows, yet Caterham has endured even this with the grace that defines her character.
Three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren carry her legacy forward, visiting her at the care home where she now resides.
Royal Recognition and Record-Breaking Milestones
King Charles III sent a congratulatory letter for her 115th birthday, conveying warmth and expressing interest in her fascinating personal history. On September 18, 2025, he visited her in person, an honor reserved for only the most exceptional citizens.
Her 116th birthday on August 21, 2025, made her the first British person ever to reach that age. Days later, LongeviQuest representatives arrived to celebrate her achievement and document her continued good health.
Records had been falling for years. On April 7, 2025, she surpassed Charlotte Hughes to become the oldest British person in history, breaking a record that had stood for 32 years. Her care home honored her by renaming a section of the grounds “Ethel’s Garden.”
Why Women Almost Always Hold the Oldest Person Record
Since Jiroemon Kimura of Japan died in June 2013, every person holding the oldest living human has been female. Kimura remains the oldest man who ever lived at 116 years and 54 days, yet even that extraordinary achievement falls short of what numerous women have accomplished.
Ben Meyers, CEO of LongeviQuest, explained the disparity in stark terms. Approximately 90% of all verified supercentenarians are female. Current figures show a typical gap of about three years between the world’s oldest woman and the world’s oldest man, João Marinho Neto of Brazil.
Biology plays a role. Having two X chromosomes appears to provide genetic protection against certain diseases. Behavioral factors matter too, with women showing lower rates of risk-taking throughout their lives.
Jeanne Calment of France holds the record no one has approached. She lived 122 years and 164 days, passing away in August 1997. Her longevity remains so extreme that some researchers have questioned its validity, though official records maintain her achievement as legitimate.
Her Days Now Center on Music, Gardens, and Care Home Celebrations
Life at Hallmark Lakeview Luxury Care Home suits Ethel well. She spends time in her garden, listens to classical music, and participates in activities organized by staff. Christmas 2024 found her wearing a Santa hat and celebrating with fellow residents.
“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,” she reflected on her current circumstances.
Her contentment radiates from those words. A woman who sailed alone to India at 18, established a nursery in Hong Kong, drove until 97, and survived a global pandemic now finds peace in a Surrey care home surrounded by people who treat her with love and respect.
Perhaps her secret to longevity is not a secret at all. Listen to others. Avoid unnecessary conflict. Do what brings you joy. Say yes to opportunities. Maintain a positive outlook. Practice moderation.
Ethel Caterham has spent 116 years on this earth without making things more complicated than they need to be. In a world obsessed with optimizing every aspect of existence, her simple wisdom might be exactly what we need to hear.