By Martin Robinson PUBLISHED: 10:31 EST, 13 September 2012 | UPDATED: 01:35 EST, 14 September 2012 Smiling, laughing and looking like they were without a care in the world, these photographs of soldiers guarding one of Nazi Germany's key outposts in 1944 were never meant to see the light of day. But this life through a lens on the idyllic Dutch island of Walcheren was grabbed by a British war hero in a daring raid behind enemy lines and its incredible contents have been published for the first time today. Green Beret Arthur Thompson, 89, was part of a 47 Royal Marine Commando smash and grab sortie on November 1 1944 to the island, in an attempt to punch a hole through the enemy's defences.
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Green Beret Arthur Thompson was part of a team raiding the occupied Dutch island of Walcheren in 1944
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While inside a German bunker he found a camera and took it
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After carrying it around until the end of the war - and taking his own snaps - he had its contents developed
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It contained pictures of Germans having fun and the images have been released for the first time today
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'I was amazed when I got them developed. I still remember in detail the moment I found the camera,' he said
Meeting: @placeholder troops lounge on chairs outside in the sunshine in 1944 with several more sitting on grassy banks