WWII British Army String Vest…how were they originally worn?

[Monk]

Hammock_man,
agh yes, I remember those days…one shirt on the body, one in the drawer and one in the wash. I experienced this growing up…which is why I now have a closet full of shirts!

leaky5,
that's interesting about the fire issue-I would suppose a string vest would keep the shirt off the skin lessening the chance for direct skin burns.

tombear, you've a history collection of clothing technology that works. I do find that it is best not to let others see one wearing these types of garments.

Janne,
These types of garments are not widely advertised anymore. It's mainly old timers and doing research that uncovers why/how this type of garment was invented and used. I do agree that cotton in bygone days was of better quality and more hard wearing.

Are there any companies in Sweden that make the nat brynjor shirts besides Brynje and Aclima-the Norwegian companies?
Is this type of garment still popular in Sweden or only for old timers?

 

[Monk]

http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_i...451_150224214119_48032_Paratroopers_Pow_5.jpg

Toddy,
The above picture shows a soldier wearing the vest over his collarless shirt and under his blouse under the smock.

http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/brinje-vests.18483/#post-216455
See Post #6. This has mention of the string vest being worn over a shirt.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/canadiansoldiers/questions-on-string-vest-t542.html
See Post #3. This also mentions the string vest being worn over a shirt. However, if you read both threads other posters do mention that the string vest was to be worn next to the skin. Some of the posters seem to be relying on information from books…which in itself may be incorrect. On one of the posts it also mentions how the British Army also did a test on a Brynje vest in the 1940s presumably during WWII.

 

[Monk]

Toddy,
my condolences on your uncle's passing. Thanks for taking the time to talk to him and for providing the information from someone who was there firsthand in WWII. There's nothing like asking someone who has firsthand user experience as to how something was actually used. You are right…if the string vest is worn over a shirt-the inner shirt would become a sticky mess.

BTW, I did have one older distant surviving uncle that had been in WWII who passed away some years back…never mentioned anything about the war and always changed the conversation.

 

[Janne]

They can be bought, but one company calls them ‘retro’.
As I do not live there anymore I am not 109% sure about current usage. Seems the Swedish youth are unaware how nice it would be sitting in front a computer screen in one of those!

That South African soldier, could he wear a bandanna around his neck? I do not understand why he would wear all those layers.

 

[oldtimer]

Monk, I'm fascinated about your interest. Are you doing some research on WW2 clothing? Having been in the CCF in the 1950s, it is a miracle to me how they managed to fight in the kit we only had to wear on parade.
I don't know if you have been able to access my Colin Fletcher reference. He goes on to discuss how to wear the vest with other garments. If it helps I could photocopy the relevant page and send it to you. Please PM me if you'd like me to do this.
Fletcher was a British Commando in WW2 having originated in Wales, before moving to the US, but I expect you already know this.

 

[Toddy]

I have no idea what that soldier was thinking. He's in so many weird looking layers, all rather odd and untidy looking somehow.

The hand knitted string vests are quite heavy. They would easily flatten down a shirt onto the skin ...the ones I saw had linen shoulder straps to stop any chaffing under a pack....and since they are 'net' then they shape to the body too, so rather like those stretchy mesh things that melons are wrapped in to stop them being bruised.

My husband is of the same generation as oldtimer, and he remembers his Mum knitting them for him when he went hiking with the Ranger Scouts. He said they were surprisingly warm. They regularly spent the New Year somewhere perishing cold up the Cairngorms, and they didn't have modern fabrics, etc., just army surplus and old style wool, ventile and the like.
I think that they're all still alive and healthy is the clearest indication that it worked though and they still go hillwalking

M

 

[oldtimer]

I think that they're all still alive and healthy is the clearest indication that it worked though and they still go hillwalking

Well I am!

 

[homesicksteve]

Can anyone recommend a source of traditional white string vest in the UK ?

I've been looking at this : https://gurds.co.uk/brynje-string-vest

No on-line ordering.
Has anyone used Gurds ? or an alternatives ?
Thanks in advance.

 

[homesicksteve]

Update : Placed a phone order with Gurds - first class service.

Brynje String vest arrived. The 'old' style wide mesh jobbie.
Exactly what I was hoping for. Test drive follows....

 

[Janne]

Excellent!
Just listen to us Old Boys, and wear it closest to your (manly) chest..


Enjoy your Norwegian 'string T' !

 

[Monk]

There's a string vest made by a Finnish company out of cotton with the shoulder patches to avoid chaffing under pack straps.
Source is nature wild.fi

oldtimer,
I got interested in this topic through reading old camping books like Bradford Angier. Thanks for the offer of the Colin Fletcher info but I am purchasing the book.
Yes, it's interesting to think how did folks back then fight in these type of clothing but they did…think back to braces and wide baggy pants…looks old-fashioned but does allow for more ease of movement(depending on trouser material) and air circulation.

Toddy,
it would be interesting to see if someone could do a reproduction of the WWII string vest. I suspect the cotton yarn/string used back then was thicker and not as shrinkable as modern cotton that the fishermen were using to make the vests. Interesting about your husband using the older types of clothing for hillwalking…these materials and designs have worked but have fallen by the wayside in modern times.

 

[Billy-o]

Worn like so:

They were quite the fashion item in the early 1980s

 

[Monk]

This is a video on Youtube by Wiggys. At the 6:00 minute mark he shows you the fishnet long johns and talks about them briefly. Then he shows you a second layer shirt…made out of a mesh that goes over the fishnets and talks about the concept of getting moisture away from your skin. 6:00 minute mark to 9:00 minute mark.

He also has a YouTube video Why You Need Fishnet Long Johns

 

[Monk]

https://www.nordiclife.co.uk/blogs/the-right-kit/18657607-really-cool-old-military-document

for further reading with a cup of tea this is from the blog on Nordiclife page 2. There's an appropriate Napoleon cartoon there on Brynje.
Anyhow, it's an old military document that has mention of the Brynje type mesh garments. Three parts.

 

[Wigate]

Sorry about this late a post.
Long ago, my science teacher mentioned to the class about string vests when he was teaching about insulation. He served in the Royal Navy as an engineer through WW2. His explanation is close to Toddy's.
It was simply worn next to the skin to trap pockets of air which insulates the body. He had high opinion of their function and practicality.

 

[Janne]

You guys make it sound like wearing a 'string vest' was done in historical times.....


Still worn in Scandinavia. Still made in Norway. Still a good insulator, and still good for avoiding sweaty underlayers clinging to your skin!

 

[homesicksteve]

I quite taken with mine, bought here & recommended :

https://gurds.co.uk/brynje-string-vest

However, although these are the thick cotton, wide mesh, traditional vests,
the web site is out of date, and they are in fact, now made in Poland....

 

[Janne]

Thanks for the heads up.
I will see if I can source one or two in Norway, maybe they still have some NOSNorwegian made up in Lofoten!

I do not expect there is any difference between the Norwegian production and Polish.

The Swedish Supercars (Ultra cars?) Koeningsegg are largely made in Poland, I believe...

 

[Tonyuk]

We wore them next to the skin in Belize, they stopped the damp shirts from clinging to the skin.