This fall, Ian Frankish came back to Kingston to take part in his convocation in Grant Hall. Ian, Artsci'12, finished his Life Sciences degree a year early, after he was accepted into medical school at the University of Calgary. However, graduating from Queen's in 2011 is special to Ian for another reason. He got his Queen's diploma 100 years after his great-grandfather, William Bradnock “Will” Armstrong, BSc 1911.

Will studied Power Development at Queen's, a course that was comprised of elements of civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. He was First Vice-President of the Engineering Society and Permanent Class President of Science '11. Will’s Queen's diploma was signed by Sir Sanford Fleming, then Chancellor of Queen's. It is a treasured family possession safe-guarded by Will’s granddaughter and Ian's mother, Bev Frankish, Sc’82.

In 1948, Bev's father, John Lachlan Armstrong, graduated from the Mechanical Engineering program at Queen's, and he proudly wore his father's tattered gold and black hood from the 1911 ceremony. Like his father, John had been actively involved in student groups and activities, including the Engineering Society and Tricolor yearbook. He was elected Permanent President of Science '48 and was inducted into the AMS’s Tricolor Society.

The Queen's engineering tradition continued with John's daughters, Jane Armstrong, Sc'79 (whose husband is Gerhard Peters, Sc'79), and Bev, Sc'82. Bev's husband, Charles Frankish, Meds'83, was part of the first medical class to study in Botterell Hall, which opened in 1979. Bev and Charles, with their daughter Alison, Com’14, joined Ian in Grant Hall at Fall Convocation, as he became the fourth generation of his family to graduate from Queen's.