Before coming to St. Paul's, Fr. Conlon served for many years before the outbreak of the Second World War in St. Anthony's, Govan. During the war he served as chaplain with the 51 st Highland Division.
The men of the "glorious 51st" wrote to the Glasgow Observer in August 1945 on hearing of him being demobbed. Part of that letter states:
"Our hearts fill with gratitude and justifiable pride to God's servant, our chaplain, as they did when we witnessed his courage, devotion and example in the grim moments of actual combat.
Many of our comrades were summoned from our midst to make the supreme sacrifice and, while we grieved their loss, yet we found consolation in the knowledge that at thcii side in the last moment had been a true Soldier of Christ, a priest in whose vocabulary there were no such words as "fear" and "self".
We deeply miss our priest, our comrade, our friend in need, and our model, but at tlif same time we thank God for his safe return. Our loss is Scotland's gain but our main feeling must always be one of admiration and gratitude for all he did for us, and it is tun wish that God will bestow His blessings on Fr. Conlon in his new Sphere."
Fr. George Conlon was the last Parish Priest of the old Church and the first Parish Priest of the new Church.
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