Ethel Caterham.

‘I have never argued with anyone’: Ethel Caterham becomes world's oldest person.

Caterham, who lives in Surrey, attributes her longevity to 'never arguing with anyone' and 'doing what I want'.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMAY 5, 2025 11:15‘I have never argued with anyone’: Ethel Caterham becomes world's oldest person.(photo credit: Hallmark Care Homes)

Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old woman from England, became the world's oldest living person following the death of Brazilian nun and teacher Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas. Sister Inah passed away on April 30, 2025, at the age of 116, as reported by The Independent.

British woman now world’s oldest person shares secret to long life Ethel was born before the First World War

Born on August 21, 1909, in the village of Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Ethel Caterham is the second youngest of eight siblings. She grew up nearby in Tidworth, Wiltshire. Her life has spanned historical events, from the sinking of the Titanic to both World Wars.

In 1927, at the age of 18, Caterham embarked on a journey to India, where she worked as a nanny for a British family for three years and appreciated their observance of both British and Indian customs, according to The Independent. Upon returning to England, she met her late husband, Lieutenant Colonel Norman Caterham, at a dinner party in 1931. The couple married in 1933 at Salisbury Cathedral. JP.