A three-day conference recognizing the life and work of former Queen’s University professor George Whalley opened Friday, and included the dedication of the George Whalley Lounge in Watson Hall.

Attending the event was a number of faculty, staff and students as well as family members who traveled from as far away as England. Helping dedicate the new room were benefactors Harley Smyth and Carolyn McIntyre Smyth.

The Centenary Conference in Honour of the Birth of George Whalley is more than an academic conference and will address various facets of his life.

During his time at Queen's Dr. Whalley served two terms as head of the English Department and wrote multiple books of poetry and literary criticism but he also was a war hero who took part in the sinking of the Bismarck during the Second World War, an inventor of a naval navigation beacon and helped found the Kingston Symphony.