Held at the famous Redfern Block, the Sydney Yarn Up provided some amazing stories of courage under fire, protection of mates and the loss of close friends in battle. The team heard stories from people with extensive knowledge of family, friends and others who have served in the Australian Defence Forces throughout the last century, and the community-generated Redfern Anzac Day march and ceremony were also discussed and personal collections of photos were shown to us.

Ray Minniecon is the organiser of the Redfern Anzac Day March and ceremony. His brothers Phillip and Sterling served in the Defence forces. Ray was kind enough to drop by and talk with John, Mick and Craig, where he spoke about the march and shared his knowledge of veterans and ex-servicemen and women.

Vic Simon fought in the Battle of Long Tan during his service in the Vietnam War. His father and uncle both served in the armed forces and this motivated Vic to enlist for military service. Roy Mundine joined the Army in 1958 and served for over 36 years. He was a Section Commander in the infantry, Quartermaster and a Warrant Officer Class One, serving in Malaya, England, New Zealand and twice in Vietnam and Borneo.

Gordon Syron spoke to us at the Sydney Yarn Up about the service of his uncles and brothers in many conflicts going back to World War I, and we also interviewed Louise Corpus who told us about her Uncle Pinky and his service during World War 2, and Paulette Whitton who spoke to us about the service of men in her family including her Uncle William George Chapman who served in World War 2.

In 2013, John Baron spoke to Noah Riseman in Sydney about his National Service and army reserves experience from the 1950s and strong involvement in the RSL movement from the late 1980s. In 2011, David Williams also spoke to Noah Riseman in Sydney about joining the Navy at age 18 and serving during Konfrontasi, the Vietnam War and on submarines during his 30 year career in the Navy.

Harry Allie also spoke to Noah Riseman in Sydney in 2011. Harry joined the Air force in 1966 and served for 23 years, including in the USA in 1973 where he worked on the testing and procurement of the F1-11 fighter jet. Before leaving the Air Force in 1989 Harry had many further domestic and international postings including to Butterworth Air Base in Malaysia in the mid 1980s.

• Read about further interviews undertaken in Sydney in 2017.