For 40 years, William (Bill) Gillies spent his spare time as an amateur diver, during which what began as an interest in coral reefs, reef zones and fish quickly grew into a passion for recovering artefacts from wrecks on Bermuda's seabed.

Some of the "treasures" were mere fragments, while others were so encrusted with calcareous algae as to be unrecognisable to the untrained eye. When luck was with him, the pieces would be intact, and include jewellery, coins, jars and bottles.

His harvest included pottery, glass, china, non-ferrous metals, munitions, gold and silver which, if piled up together, might have been perceived as "junk" to the uninitiated, but not to Mr. Gillies.Fortunately, he is a meticulous man who is blessed with great patience, a passion for detail, and an affinity for research, as a result of which he owns a stunning collection of professionally restored and reconstructed artefacts, spanning centuries of invention and manufacture, which are fascinating to behold.

Backing the collection are rows of impeccably kept diaries recording details of every single dive he has ever made, together with shelves full of relevant books should his encyclopaedic memory ever fail him.Unlike museums, where mere fragments of an item are commonly displayed, leaving the rest to the viewer's imagination, Mr. Gillies wanted his collection to be realistic, so he spent countless hours over the years restoring or reconstructing "the real thing" from the found pieces.

That the various processes were painstaking and time-consuming is an understatement, and required a great deal of ingenuity and invention, but to today's viewer the line between "original" and "reconstructed" is virtually indistinguishable and a remarkable testament to his skills as a restorer.

In fact, Dr. David Saul describes his friend as "what many people today regard as the premier restorer of underwater artefacts in Bermuda", and further tributes to his work can be found in the fact that, not only does Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute display some of the items, but also collectors, including Colonial Williamsburg, seek his services to conserve valuable materials, including bottles and pottery.

Mr. Gillies might be an septuagenarian who now remains on dry land, but he has not retired from Life, nor his lifelong interest in marine artefacts.As a man with an eye to recorded history, he has gone beyond collectibles to literally put pen to paper and write his newly-published book, 'Reefs, Wrecks & Relics', about Bermuda's underwater heritage. The 128-page publication makes compelling reading, and is certain to become an important archive for future generations. That it belongs in every public and home library is beyond question.

In terms of motivation, Mr. Gillies felt it was his duty to write a book from a diver's perspective."I thought the story of what had been done on the wrecks and reefs should be told from our side," he says.

"Previously, it had only been told by (Dr.) Ed Harris, (executive director of the Maritime Museum), who is not a diver, and it didn't look like anybody else was going to do it."Harry Cox died; I heard Teddy Tucker was going to do it, and Peter Benchley was going to write it but Peter died, so I am the only one left."Besides, Mr. Gillies says he felt there were many fellow divers who had not become household names, and he wanted their efforts to be recognised."If you think about diving in Bermuda, you think about Teddy Tucker and Harry Cox, but there are others you never hear about, and I wanted to mention everybody that I could think of who contributed on the boat, and also people who did not dive with me but who had good collections and found completely different things.

"Others also contributed a good bit people like Charlie Dunn, and Charlie Reed from Framingham, Massachusetts, who made me a replica candlestick from the Sea Venture." Thus it was that, with a wealth of material in the form of diaries, notes, photographs and more, and time on his hands as a retiree, the first-time author got down to work, first writing by hand and then transferring the text to his computer. Similarly, countless photographs were put on disc, and work on the text proceeded apace.

All in all, Mr. Gillies estimates it took him three years to reach the publication stage a process in which he happily admits "everybody helped a little bit", including Dr. David Saul and his great friend and Dr. Edward Schultz, both of whom share his passion for diving and our underwater heritage, and were happy to offer advice and ideas. When it came to the all-important cover design, Mr. Gillies approached Mr. Ross Nearon of Kodak Express with a disc of photographs and an idea of what he wanted.

The relevant information was passed to a firm in Argentina, and subsequently adjusted at the Bermuda end, the result of which is an eye-catching pastiche that fulfils the author's desires.

Mr. Gillies also has high praise for the invaluable production work of Horst Augustinovic and his staff at Print Link Limited.With publication now a fait accompli, one might assume that the author considers his mission accomplished but that would be without knowing the man who clearly believes a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Thus it is that he hints there are more books albeit on different themes yet to come. Meanwhile, outlets at which 'Reefs, Wrecks & Relics' is sold are: the Bermuda Book Store, A.S. Cooper's hotel shops, the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo gift shop, the airport gift shop, Crystal Caves gift shop, Bermuda Craft Market, Walker Christopher, the Book Cellar, Triangle Gift Shop at Robinson's Marina, Trustworthy, the Book Mart, and the Arts Centre at Dockyard. The price is $18.