Peter Cabey is honored on September 12, 2026 to commemorate his 100th birthday, which took place five days earlier.
Peter Cabey was born in 1926, was confirmed in the Anglican church in 1936, became a Seventh-Day Adventist in 1946, played his final match for the Montserrat cricket team in 1966, and migrated to the United Kingdom in 1996. His life has been a model of consistency, whether by choice or coincidence. And when he turned 100 on Monday, September 7, 2026, he was asked the standard question posed to all centenarians: “What is your secret?”
“I do not keep malice in my heart for anyone,” he said. “I don’t think about revenge. I don’t get angry. Anger leads to destruction. Also you have to be willing to obey God’s commandments.”
Cabey has also prioritized his physical health. His diet consists mainly of fish and vegetables. For much of his life in Montserrat he visited Foxes Bay each morning for a swim. He was also an avid bicycle rider in his younger days. Other than a chronic foot ailment and some struggles with his eyesight his general health is good.
Cabey was best known in Montserrat as a prolific tractor driver. He has also been a tailor, barber, musician and estate manager. He endured the wrath of natural disasters and survived a murder attempt. He is a two-time widower who at age 70 was forced to start over after most of his possessions were vanquished by volcanic activity. But he has beaten the odds to become the only member of his family to reach a century. He feels profoundly blessed.
“I’m not only grateful to reach 100 but also happy that I’m still in my right mind,” Cabey said from his home in East London. “That way I’m able to choose and hold on to the good things of life that the Lord has to offer.”
An early photo of Peter Cabey.
LARGE FAMILY
Peter Henry Cabey was born in St. George’s Hill, Montserrat, about three miles east of the capital of Plymouth. He was the youngest of 20 siblings. His dad, George Cabey – better known as “Georgie Georgie” – fathered 18 children. After George Cabey’s first wife died, he married Peter’s mother, Henrietta “Miss Harriet” Semper, who already had two children. Several of the siblings shared the same name. Peter had an older brother also named Peter Cabey, plus two sisters named Ann, two named Catherine (Kitty) and two named Nelly.
Peter attended St. Mary’s School in Plymouth, completing his education in Standard 7. He says one of his favorite childhood treats was “moosha” porridge. When cassava was grated and strained, the remains were sifted to make cassava bread. The rough, unsifted portion (“moosha”) would be pounded by a mortar pestle into powder and used to make porridge.
Peter’s family was devoutly Anglican, and Peter was confirmed at the venerable St. Anthony’s Church. In 1946, a family member visited Bermuda and mailed a book to Peter called The Hope Of The Race by Frank Loris Peterson, an African American Adventist preacher. Peter was inspired by the book’s exploration of the Adventist faith and practices, especially the observation of the Sabbath on Saturday instead of Sunday. He decided to convert. On Montserrat – an island dominated by Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists – Adventists were often scorned at that time, Cabey said.
“People used to call them Seventh-Devil Adventists. When I switched to Adventist my family thought I was crazy. The Anglican pastor even came to my home in St. George’s Hill and tried to convince me to come back.”
But Cabey’s decision was firm. At the time he was a guitarist in a band led by Sam White of Cork Hill. Cabey quit the band and shed secular music. About four years earlier at age 16 he stopped drinking after he got drunk and was so sick that he was convinced he would die. “I prayed and told God that if he saved me I would never drink again. I haven’t had any alcohol, not even a beer, up to this day.”
In 1948 he was officially baptized in the Adventist church. That same year he married Catherine “Barba” Kelly, a young lady from his village. They would welcome two sons, Roy in 1951 and Morris in 1953. Roy later became one of Montserrat’s most prominent builders. Morris became a mechanic and body-builder. The family first lived in St. George’s Hill, then Cabey built a house in Gages, about a five-minute drive from his childhood home.
WORKING MAN
One of Cabey’s first jobs was as a tailor. He learned the craft as an apprentice to Tom Harper of Cork Hill but later quit following a salary dispute. For years he continued performing tailoring jobs on his own time, using his mother’s sewing machine. He notably designed “sliders” – a type of men’s underwear. “We used to take the old flour bags and wash them out very good and I would make underpants for my brothers.”
Around the mid-1950s Cabey joined the Agricultural Department in Montserrat and became a tractor driver. “A man from St. George’s Hill named ‘John Joyce’ (John Roach) taught me to drive the tractor and I got my license in 1958.”
Cabey worked with the Agricultural Department for more than 30 years. Near the end of his tenure he stopped driving and supervised the Government of Montserrat’s tractor fleet. He also cultivated land just east of Gages near Lees Village and harvested sweet potatoes, which proved lucrative. Cabey said he even exported to Antigua and St. Kitts.
Another of Cabey’s pastimes was cricket. He was a stylish left-handed batsman and specialist fielder who played locally for Spitfire, a team based in Plymouth, and Salem. He did not give up cricket after becoming an Adventist, but he had to make sacrifices. He steadfastly refused to play on Saturdays.
Cabey played for the Montserrat national team five times: 1953, 1961, 1964, 1965 and 1966. In his first year Montserrat won the Leeward Islands championship – a feat that has not been repeated since.
Cabey admits he didn’t have many highlights with the bat while playing for Montserrat but fondly recalls making a superb, diving catch against Antigua during the 1966 Leewards tournament in St. Kitts. “The St. Kitts people ran on the field and lifted me in the air,” he said with glee, as if reliving the moment.
Peter Cabey, front center, with the Montserrat team in St. Kitts in 1966 – his final time playing for the national team.
‘GOD PROTECTS ME’
In 1972 Cabey visited Bermuda with his son Roy, who heard from a relative that there were job opportunities in construction. Initially, Cabey’s presence was simply to accompany Roy, but he decided to seek a job himself, and he was hired as a truck driver for a company building a hotel in Hamilton, the capital.
One day Cabey was assigned to pick up a stack of concrete blocks from a manufacturer. Since he was new to the country, a local driver was asked to help him navigate. But the man apparently coveted Cabey’s job. When the two arrived at the manufacturer, the man – who was driving – told Cabey to open the back of the truck so they could load the blocks. Cabey obliged. The man then reversed the vehicle, ostensibly to get closer to the stack of blocks, but kept going despite a worker at the plant yelling for him to stop. Cabey barely escaped through a small space between the truck’s back tire and the pile of blocks. He doesn’t believe it was accidental; the man never apologized.
When Cabey is asked about the best and worst moments of his life he mentions that incident. It was horrible considering he almost met a harrowing death. But it was joyful because Cabey is convinced he was saved through divine intervention. “I know that God protects me from dangers.”
There would be more challenges to come. In 1989 Cabey’s wife “Barba” passed away. That same year Montserrat was hit by category 5 Hurricane Hugo. Then on July 18, 1995, volcanic activity was reported in Soufriere Hills. Cabey’s home was just a couple miles away and in the direct path of the ash. His area was one of the first to be evacuated.
A year earlier Cabey married Elizabeth “Liz” Lindsey. When the volcanic crisis began, Cabey said he and Liz first moved to a shelter in Salem, then with Liz’s daughter in the north. They then went to Antigua to stay with relatives “until the volcano cooled off,” Cabey said. Little did Cabey know he would step directly into another disaster. On September 4, 1995, Hurricane Luis made landfall in Antigua. Cabey and relatives hunkered down and watched as neighbors’ roofs were ripped apart. Ironically, Montserrat – just 27 miles away – did not experience severe damage.
Peter and wife Liz on their wedding day in 1994.
Following the storm Cabey returned to Montserrat and headed back to his home in Gages. That same night a torrent of rockfall and earthquakes from the volcano hammered Gages.
“My wife and my grandson were grabbing on to me the whole night,” he said. “We couldn’t leave the house. I was just as scared as them but I didn’t let them know. We didn’t sleep the whole night.”
Cabey decided the next day to sign up for the package to relocate to Britain. He and Liz migrated to the UK in 1996.
A NEW BEGINNING
Cabey first resided at Thatched House in Leyton, East London. Two years later he moved to his current residence, also in Leyton. His 30 years in England have been focused on family and faith. He joined the Kings Cross Adventist Church in Islington and became a choir member, just as he was in Montserrat when he was choir director of his church in Dagenham. He also became a member of the All-London Male Voice Choir as a second tenor.
Cabey lost his wife Liz in 2013 and son Roy, who resided in Canada, in 2022. He has kept busy with gardening and his church involvement. When COVID hit in 2020 Cabey learned how to participate in Zoom meetings. He gets frequent visitors, including family, friends and church members. They bring him meals and help him run his errands. Living alone – especially at his age – has its hazards. On a Friday evening in 2025 Cabey fell at home and was unable to get up. He spent almost 24 hours on the floor until a church elder visited his home after becoming concerned when Cabey missed service on Saturday. Cabey says if the fall had happened earlier in the week, “I would have been done.”
Despite that distressing experience Cabey says there is one upside to living alone. “I get a chance to talk to God without interruptions,” he says with a laugh.
Cabey is deeply aware that reaching 100 is rare, and he knows each day is precious. But he’s not afraid of death. On the contrary he says he looks forward to “meeting my Creator.” He also admits that he’s not perfect.
“I’ve slipped up and done some things in the past but I’ve asked the Lord for forgiveness. I’ve enjoyed my life and I’ve had great friends. All my friends are God-fearing, intelligent people.”
– Peter Cabey
FOR PETER’S SAKE
On Saturday, September 12, 2026, many of those friends gathered as Peter’s church held a tribute in his honor. The guests were asked to wear blue, his favorite color. They extolled his virtues, spoke about his life and commitment to the church and shared personal stories. One member joked about Cabey’s meticulous eating habits. “He knows what he likes to eat and how it should taste, and just like singing he would tell you if you were off key.”
Peter thanked the gathering and even serenaded them with the classic hymnal It Was You Who Invited Me In. He was touched by the outpouring of love.
“It made me see how many people appreciate me. Some people came from far. The All-London Male Choir sang for me and my good friend brought me a nice cake. I never took so many pictures in my life. Everybody wanted to take my picture! It felt really good.”
Wearing a snappy blue suit and immersed in love and admiration, Peter Cabey – newly minted centenarian – had the time of his life.
Peter Cabey plays his ukulele and sings “The Sweet By and By” at his home in London on April 8, 2025.
