Ethel Caterham, the world’s oldest person, celebrates her 117th birthday in Lightwater

Ethel Caterham, the world’s oldest living person, celebrated her 117th birthday on Friday 21 August at her care home in Lightwater.

Born Ethel May Collins on 21 August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, she grew up in Wiltshire and now lives at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home in Lightwater, Surrey Heath.

She is the first British person ever recorded to reach 117, according to LongeviQuest and the Gerontology Research Group, the organisations that validate the ages of the world’s oldest people — and one of only 13 people worldwide whose age at 117 has been verified by the GRG.

‘From stroking a llama to holding hands with the King’

She spent the day with family and friends. In a statement she said she had enjoyed “many firsts this year, from stroking a llama to holding hands with the King” — a reference to King Charles’s visit to her care home on 18 September 2025.

From everyone at Surrey Extra: happy 117th birthday, Ethel.