Brian Turner - and the RSL - can thank his son for his significant involvement with returned servicemen.
"It was only when my son joined the regular army when he was 17 or 18 and he came home one time and said, 'we're going to Anzac Day'," Mr Turner recalled. "I wasn't even a member."
Although he had served in the Army Reserve for 27 years, he had been hesitant to join "because I wasn't a returned serviceman, in my view", said the Katoomba man.
That little prompt from his son eventually led Mr Turner to significant voluntary work with the Katoomba sub-branch (as member, former treasurer and current secretary), with the state RSL (as a member, registrar and deputy chairman of the state tribunal) and, for the past decade, as president of the Katoomba RSL Club.
For his service to veterans, Mr Turner has been awarded a medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
A former child migrant from the UK, Mr Turner ultimately worked for 42 years in the NSW public service with the Department of Main Roads (later Roads and Traffic Authority then Roads and Maritime Service).
It was this administrative experience that he felt could be useful to veterans.
He said he has felt very privileged to be on the state tribunal, which hears and adjudicates on disciplinary matters involving either individuals, sub branches or other groups within the RSL community.
"There's barristers, solicitors and other professional people and then there's me."
One of his greatest challenges was the day in February 2017 when the Katoomba RSL burnt down. He vividly remembers standing in the car park with club CEO Nick Darias watching in dismay as the flames swallowed the building.
"I thought I've got to do something so the next day I called a meeting... There was no manual that says what you do when your club burns down."
In the end, the clubhouse was rebuilt and the RSL has continued to be a major part of community life in the Upper Mountains.
