John Clifford Papayanni was born in Wagga Wagga, on May 5 1920. He was the youngest of three sons (Basil and George) of Nicholas Papayanni and his wife, Winifred (Nee Hill). All of them grew up in Kogarah. Cliff's grandfather and great-uncle (Basilio and George) from Smyrna of Asia Minor, had founded the "Papayanni Steamship Company" in Liverpool, England. Unfortunately, Basilio's son, Nicholas, gambled away the fortune and headed to Australia, where he met and married Winifred. Cliff was brilliant at school and earned entrance into the selective Canterbury Boys High School, where he was always at the top of his class. Unfortunately, as the family was poor, he was forced to quit school early. Cliff loved school and cried the day he was compelled to leave and find work, at the age of 13, in order to earn money.

When the Second World War erupted, Cliff answered the call. He enlisted to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in No.2 Recruit Center, in Sydney, on April 24 1942, as Aircraftman (AC), where he applied for pilot training. He was transferred to No.3 I.T.S on Bradfield Park, for his initial training. On July 18 1942, he was promoted to Leading Aircraftman (LAC) and 9 days later he was transferred to No. 8 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 8 E.F.T.S), in Narrandera, New South Wales. It was one of twelve elementary flying training schools employed by the RAAF, to provide introductory flight instruction to new pilots, as part of Australia's contribution to the Empire Air Training Scheme. With the schools Tiger Moths, Cliff took off for the skies for the first time and he successfully finished his elementary training approximately 4 months later. The next assignment for the Greek parentage Australian was to Uranquinty, in order to attend No. 5 Service Flying Training School (No. 5 SFTS). He was posted on November 23, 1942, and successfully finished school training sorties. He was about to appear on his wings’ parade at Uranquinty when a bout of measles interrupted. He was forced to wait until the next parade and in the interim, much to his chagrin, change in government policy meant that he was no longer needed as a pilot at that stage. Although a difficult moment for every promising aviator, Clifford choose to stay in RAAF and fight for freedom as an aircrew member. On April 1 1943, he attends No.2 Wireless Air Gunners School (No.2 WAGS), in RAAF Station Parkes, New South Wales. Almost 6 months later, on October 17, 1943, he graduated and was sent to the No.2 Bombing and Gunnery School (No.2 BAGS) in Port Pirie, where he stayed until November 23, 1943. The same day he packed up his personal things and traveled to the No.2 Embarkation Depot. Few days before he had been promoted to Sgt. On November 26 he embarked from Sydney and on January 10, 1944, he disembarked in England. He stayed for 2 months in various Recruit Centers before he was transferred to No.1 Base in Lincolnshire. One month later he was again transferred to No.101 Sqn. Ludford Magna Lancaster’s in 1943 were equipped with a top secret radio jamming system codenamed "Airborne Cigar" (ABC) operated by an eighth crew member who could understand German, some with German or Jewish backgrounds known as "special operators" commonly abbreviated to "spec ops" or "SO". They sat in a curtained off area towards the rear of the aircraft and located and jammed German fighter controller's broadcasts, occasionally posing as controllers to spread disinformation. The aircraft fitted with the system was distinctive due to the two large vertical antennae rising from the middle of the fuselage. Deliberately breaking the standing operating procedure of radio silence to conduct the jamming, made the aircraft highly vulnerable to being tracked and attacked, which resulted in 101 Squadron having the highest casualty rate of any RAF squadron. Since October 1943, they flew 2477 sorties with ABC, losing 1094 crew killed and 178 POWs. Nevertheless, they saved much more bomber crews than their losses. At 23 years of age, Cliff was a hostage to some of these inhospitable confines of an Avro Lancaster bomber, flying in tight formation, hitting targets all over Germany. Cliff was proficient in the German language enabling him to operate specialist radio equipment that intercepted and disrupted the Luftwaffe’s communications. He endured and survived 31 combat missions. Cliff completed his war service in July 1946 with the rank of flight lieutenant. It is reported that after the war, on the occasions Cliff was briefed in what euphemistically was described as ‘difficult’ criminal matters, he would mollify the anxiety of his instructing solicitors by suggesting ‘difficult’ was managing a Lancaster bomber being attacked by a Messerschmitt 109 with cannons blazing!

During the war, Papayanni also played cricket for the Australian Services side. Later, he was a wicketkeeper and batsman and played with Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Richie Benaud, and Don Bradman. Papayanni's courage followed him into the law, where he epitomized the concept of fearless advocacy. He was the quintessential defense counsel, appearing in all courts, including the High Court, where he changed the legal landscape in relation to law. In 1968, in the Andrews case, the High Court quashed the conviction and set aside the sentence of the appellant, who had been wrongly indicted, insisting that it is imperative that an accused be tried for the crime for which he is charged. Papayanni was also the appellant advocate in the 1985 case of Giorgianni, where the High Court clarified the law governing the ''guilty mind'' for complicity in a crime, stating that the law requires both actual knowledges of the essential matters and intentional participation. After the war and back in Australia, Papayanni worked in child welfare before becoming a barrister in 1960. In 1964, he married animal activist Joan Edwards. They lived in Henley for 46 years and Joan persuaded Cliff to provide his services for animals, pro bono in many cases, as well as to take on the voluntary position of legal officer of the World League for the Protection of Animals. Papayanni also became a public defender. He was befriended by Doc Evatt, who gave him a wig, which he wore throughout his illustrious career. Mealtimes in the Papayanni household were often interrupted by phone calls from people such as Lionel Murphy, Robbie Waterhouse and Neville Wran, or criminals and notorious underworld figures asking for legal advice. Papayanni gave up paid work in 2007, when he was 87, but continued as legal officer for the league until his death.

For his services during the war, John Clifford Papayanni awarded with the 1939-45 Star, France & Germany Star, Defense Medal, War Medal 1939-45, Australia Service Medal 1939-45 and Returned from Active Service Badge.