The Sunken Gold: First World War Espionage and the Greatest Treasure Salvage in History

By Joseph A. Williams

When HMS Laurentic sank in 1917, few knew what cargo she was carrying, and the Admiralty wanted to keep it that way. After all, broadcasting that there were 44 tons of gold off the coast of Ireland in the middle of a vicious and bloody war was not the best strategic move. But Britain desperately needed that gold. Lieutenant Commander Guybon Damant was an expert diver and helped discover how to prevent decompression sickness (‘the bends’). With a then world record dive of 210ft under his belt and a proven history of military determination, Damant was the perfect man for a job that required the utmost secrecy and skill. What followed next was a tale of incredible feats, set against a backdrop of war and treacherous storms. Based on thousands of Admiralty pages, interviews with Damant’s family and the unpublished memoirs of the man himself, The Sunken Gold is a story of war, treasure – and one man’s obsession to find it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Oct 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9780750989688

Joseph A. Williams

JOSEPH A. WILLIAMS is a librarian, archivist, and maritime historian. Currently, he is the Deputy Director of the Greenwich Library (CT). He is the author of Seventeen Fathoms Deep (Chicago Review Press, 2015) and Four Years Before the Mast (Fort Schuyler Press, 2013).