Breakfast at Tiffany’s: The war-torn soldier saved by a peach

During World War II, the British-held North African port of Tobruk was under German siege. A certain British army unit had been ordered to stand their ground without retreat or surrender, knowing this would probably be the last battle most of them would ever fight. When the gunfire faded and the smoke cleared, British soldier Ray Ellis was the only one left out of his entire unit. Shortly after, he was captured by German troops and sent thousands of miles across the North African desert as a prisoner of war.

“And so began the most dangerous journey I’ve ever made,” recounted Ellis in archival footage from the 2023 documentary “World War II: From the Frontlines” directed by Rob Coldstream.

Packed in the back of a truck with other prisoners of war, there was no room to move, let alone sit. The stench of sweat and excrement was nauseating. Men who died on the journey remained standing until the truck would stop at night and remove the corpses. Finally, they arrived in Italy—a starved and broken-down group of men, according to Ellis. They were marched through the streets where a jeering crowd spit at them, hit them and chanted, “This is the British army. Look at them!” 

From somewhere in the crowd, a little girl came running over to Ellis, pressed a peach into his hand, then ran back again and hid herself. He recalled:

“I can remember eating it and holding my cupped hands round my mouth. Don't think anything ever tasted better than that peach. I just burst into tears. It made me realize that when you think the whole world is against you and things are going wrong, I always think there's a girl with a peach somewhere.”

Much like Ray Ellis, some of you may be trudging through a season of repeated loss and defeat with little hope in sight. May God send you a token of His loving kindness—like the little girl with the peach—to strengthen you for the next step. May He give you eyes to see His blessings in the little things until you return to a place of refuge and restoration.

Or are you like the little girl, enjoying a time of abundance while others around you suffer? You, too, are uniquely positioned. May God give you eyes to see how you can be His hands and feet to someone who may be hanging on by nothing more than a thread.