New Canaan Library Welcomes Historian and Author Joseph Williams on Oct. 26

New Canaan Library is pleased to welcome historian, librarian and author Joseph A. Williams, discussing his recently published narrative, The Sunken Gold. This compelling book, published 100 years after the event,  tells the tale of  the historic sinking of HMS Laurentic during WWI. Williams will speak at the Library on Thursday, October 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Adrian Lamb Room. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, courtesy of Elm Street Books. Please register online at newcanaanlibrary.org.

On January 25, 1917 HMS Laurentic, a British ship laden with forty-four tons of Allied gold bound for the still-neutral United States, struck German mines and sank off the coast of Ireland.  Britain desperately needed the sunken treasure to finance the war effort but any salvage had to be secretly performed to avoid alerting the Germans to the gold. Lieutenant Commander Guybon Damant headed up the risky mission and persisted for more than a year despite perilous conditions. Called to leave that mission and lead another to successfully recover ciphers, minefield schematics, and other secrets from sunken U-boats, he never forgot the original mission, and ultimately succeeded. Using newly discovered sources, Williams provides a stirring full account of the quest that is also a testimony to human persistence and bravery.

Joseph A. Williams is a librarian, archivist, and historian holding master's degrees in American History and Library and Information Science from Queens College. He was previously Assistant Director of the State University of New York Maritime College's Stephen B. Luce Library, which specializes in nautical research. Currently, he is the Deputy Director of the Greenwich Library. Joseph has published in the fields of maritime history and librarianship. His work has also been presented at national and regional conferences and symposia. His first book, Four Years Before the Mast, is a history of Maritime College, the nation's oldest maritime training school. His second book, Seventeen Fathoms Deep, is a narrative history concerning the 1927 submarine S-4 disaster.