Erika Elisabeth Koorem, my grandmother, was born on the 7th of July 1925. She had 6 brothers and 1 sister; Bernard, Oscar, August, Enn, Theresa, Paul & Alfred. Her father, Karl, died when she was a young child, and she was always very close to her mother Miina.
My grandmother was born and raised on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia. She had a pleasant childhood, living in a cottage in the woods, playing in the forrest and swimming in the sea.
Unfortunately, during second World War, the Russians invaded the country and my grandmothers name was placed on a list to be relocated to Siberia. She then decided she had to flee the country. So, at just 19 years old, she said goodbye to her beloved mother and boarded a ship headed to Latvia. However, shortly after boarding the ship, a Russian submarine fired a torpedo and one end of the ship blew into flames, and the ship began to sink. There was over 1000 people on board. My nana told me she never had a lifejacket on, as she was using it as pillow, but forgot to pick it up when the torpedo struck. So her boyfriend gave his lifejacket to her and they jumped into the sea. She never saw her boyfriend again. Her brother was also on the ship but they lost each other. My nana drifted in the sea for hours until a German ship came and rescued her. She later learned that only a couple of hundred people aboard the fateful ship survived.
My nana then went to Latvia and then to Poland and then to no mans land. She went from hiding place to hiding place, and lived with no money and very little food. The Russians were invading badly, and if she was found, she would have been sent to a concentration camp. She also found out her brother had survived the ship incident and was sent to another country to work.
Then around 1946, since my nana was classed as a "displaced person" she was given the option to go to either Australia, England or the US. She originally wanted to go to the US or Australia but the wait was too long so she opted for England. After spending a few weeks in Bristol, she then moved to Dundee in Scotland where she became a factory worker and then a nurse.
My nana had a passion for dancing and often traveled to Perth in Scotland to go dancing. While there, she met Jim Peggie, a musician in the band. Shortly after, she moved to Perth and before long she married Jim and had 3 sons, David, Jimmy & Eric. They made a happy life for themselves although my nana never got to return to Estonia until after her mother had died, by which she was very saddened. She had often written letters to her mother, but they were always returned unopened.
Her sons gave her 4 granddaughters. Sarah, Louise and myself, as well as Anna who lives in Arizona. I always remember going to stay with my nana and papa during the school holidays, and I always loved it as we would be spoiled rotten. My nana loved swimming and would often swim 2-3 times a week, 30-40 lengths at a time! She also loved yoga, and of course dancing. She attended tea-dancing classes once a week.
In 1999, her husband, my Papa, sadly died. He was sorely missed but my Nana kept herself busy with her hobbies. As well as swimming and dancing my Nana loved to tend the garden. She definitely had the most beautiful and colourful garden I've ever seen!! She also liked to take trips abroad as she was a sun-worshipper and was always outside tanning herself!!
As I got older, I always made sure to take time out to visit my Nana. She was the most important person in my life after my own mother had died and we often found ourselves having long, deep conversations about anything and everything. She was also a great lover of animals and she even had a pet fly at one point which she fed with sugar and water because he had a "sore wing"! Anyone found hurting any insect or animal was quickly given into trouble.
I'm so proud of my Estonian heritage, and I was lucky enough to get to visit Estonia in 2005 when we took my Nana for her 80th birthday. It's a beautiful, serene country with lots of history and I hope to go back one day.
Sadly, my nana died on the 22nd August 2007 from cancer, aged 82. It was a very sad day for the whole family as she was cherished and adored by everyone. She knew how to brighten anyones day. I love my nana so much and can't believe it's now been 2 years since she died. She was an amazing and inspirational woman who I miss so much. I hope one day I can be like her and she always embraced life and lived every day to the fullest.
In loving memory of Erika Elisabeth Peggie 7/7/1925 - 22/8/2007
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