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Meet Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old British woman who now holds the title of the world’s oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group. She has become the oldest person in the world, at the age of 115 and 252 days. She lives at a care home in Lightwater, Surrey, got to this milestone after the death of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, aged 116 on Wednesday. Caterham has revealed secret to her longevity.
Ethel May Collins was born in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, England, on 21 August 1909 as the second-youngest of eight children, and was raised in Tidworth, Wiltshire. Her sister, Gladys Babilas (1897–2002), lived to be 104. In 1927, aged 18, she went on a voyage to India and worked as an au pair to a military family until she was 21.
She returned to the UK in 1931 and met her future husband, Norman Caterham. They married at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933. She became a lieutenant colonel in the army, and the couple were stationed in Hong Kong and Gibraltar.
At her 115th birthday celebrations in August 2024, BBC quoted her as saying that she 'didn't know why there was all the fuss.' She said the secret to her longevity was "never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like". The new record has been confirmed by Guinness World Records and LongeviQuest, a database of the world's oldest people.
According to BBS, she has lived through the sinking of the Titanic, World War One, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression and World War Two. She has spent the last 50 years living in Surrey and continued driving until she was 97.
On her 115th birthday, BBC reported that she received a letter from the King congratulating her on a 'truly remarkable milestone'. The King conveyed his 'warmest good wishes' and 'hoped that Ethel enjoys her incredibly special day'.
The letter stated that His Majesty was 'heartened to learn about Ethel's fascinating personal history'.
Ms Caterham is also one of the oldest people to survive Covid-19, after contracting it in 2020 at the age of 110, according to Guinness World Records. She is currently the world's oldest living person, as well as the last living person born in the 1900s decade.
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