Historien om Henrik Brun fra Uvdal som fant opp helsetrøya
Dette er historien om helsetrøyas far, Henrik Natvig Brun fra Uvdal i Norge. Selv om Brun fant opp historiens aller første nettingtrøye, ble han aldri kjent for oppfinnelsen sin. Men Brynje-trøya er og blir en eksportsuksess fra Uvdal. Trøya har vært med på det meste; tøffe ekspedisjoner til fots, på ski og sykkel. Den var på Mt. Everest i 1953 med Hillary og Tenzing. På Nordpolen og Sydpolen. Kaptein Brun var en dyktig kar og hans helsetrøye gjorde Brynje of Norway til det vi er. For dette skylder vi ham heder og stor takk.
Teksten nedenfor er en direkte gjengivelse av artikkel i avisa Hallingdølen fra 2018.
Tekst: Ina Eirin Eliassen - Foto: Privat og faksimiler
HAN FANN OPP HELSETRØYA
Etter denne artikkelen kjem du til å sende ein tanke til Øvre Numedal kvar gong du dreg på deg helsetrøya.
Me må attende til mellomkrigstida for å forstå korleis den revolusjonerande undertøysoppfinninga vart til. Det skjedde på garden Lunda i Uvdal, og opphavsmannen var gardbrukar og offiser Henrik Natvig Brun. At Brun hamna på feil side under krigen, er nok med å forklare kvifor han aldri fekk heider for oppfinninga si. For på sine gamle dagar levde Brun eit tilbaketrekt liv som sauebonde. Men sikkert er det at klesplagget som vart utvikla med tanke på militær bruk, skulle bli ei norsk eksportvare av dei sjeldne. Her får du heile historia om uvdølen som var ein føregangsmann for fjell- og vinterutstyr og som slo eit slag både for Det norske forsvaret og for nordmenn på tur.
Så kven var han? Kvar idear dreiv han?
Henrik Natvig Brun var fødd i Oslo i 1897. Faren Johan var tannlege og kjøpte i 1912 bruket Lunda i Uvdal for å bli fjellbonde. Henrik fekk militær utdanning, både på befalsskulen og seinare krigsskulen. I mellomtida hadde han vore mykje på Lunda og var blitt farga av farens nasjonalromantiske idear. Omsider rømte Henrik frå krigsskulen for å oppfylle Lunda-draumen. Og sjølv om faren prøvde å få han attende til skulen, tok aldri sonen avsluttande eksamen etter tre år med offisersutdanning.
Første verdskrig og etter kvart børskrakket snudde opp ned på mykje også i Norge. Verdsøkonomien låg som ei tung hand over alt. Sosialisme og kommunisme baud på løysingar. Mange var også skeptiske. Ingen torde å satse. Folk var utrygge og følte at noko ville koma. I mellomtida prøvde ein å leva så godt ein kunne.
Då pengane tok slutt, returnerte faren tilbake til tannlegeyrket. I 1921, 24 år gamal kjøpte og overtok Henrik garden av far sin. Han betalte 12.000 kroner. Same året gifta han seg med Brita. På Lunda fekk Henrik tid til å tenke medan han dyrka garden for hand. Han hadde sterke militære interesser og mange idear og tankar om å utruste Det norske forsvaret på ein betre måte. Resultatet var fleire typar oppfinningar av utstyr for hardt og krevjande klima.
Ei trøye som både kunne isolere og ventilere
Ei av oppfinningane Henrik brukte tid på var ein ny type undertøy. Oppfinninga kalla han "brynje". Ho likna ringbrynja til vikingane. Tanken var å skape eit stort og samanhengane luftlag mellom kleda og overkroppen. Luftlaget skulle både isolere og ventilere. Brynja var innarbeidd i eit heilt konsept for korleis å best kle seg i kulda.
«Vi tenker oss en soldat i kamp, hårde marsjer så svetten siler, selv om han har tatt av sig det ene plagg efter det annet. Efterpå skal han kanskje ha stillesittende vaktteneste, ligge stille i skyte- eller beredskapsstilling. Han vil da i sterk kulde ganske snart begynde å fryse, og da er hans kampkraft ganske vesentlig redusert. En frossen soldat kan marsjere, arbeide og lide ondt; men til kamp og skytning er han meget lite brukbar. Viljen til seir tåler liten frost. Dette er en sannhet man stadig må ha for øie om vinteren», skriv Brun.
Han foreslo derfor: «Innerst på kroppen en meget grov trøie av grovt stivt fiskesnøre strikket på strikkepinner av et tverrsnitt av 8-10 mm. Herutenpå har man ulltrøier, genser og islender etter behov.»
«Jeg selv bærer den innerst ved kroppen natt og dag og den er blitt mig et uerstattelig plagg. Hertil må den vel sies hygienisk å rage høit.»
Etter kvart vart fiskesnøre bytta ut med hardtvinna bomullsgarn. Sjølv om Brun meinte ull var vel og bra, var tauet slik at det retta seg ut når det vart vått. Mellom anna skal lokale tømmarhoggarar ha vore prøvekaninar, skriv Lauritzen og Frøstrup i boka «Fjellpionerer». Brun betalte kvinner i bygda til å strikke trøyene. Maskene var grove. Slik sett var dei raske å lage, fortel familien. Ifølgje Ulateig skal Brun sjølv ha strikka over tusen brynjer. Han laga også underbukser i same materiale.
ALT I FEBRUAR 1928 skreiv Aftenposten om den grove bomullstrøya som skulle halde norske kampstyrkar varme og klare for kamp. Då var det alt nokre år sidan Brun, som premierløintnant, prøvde ut trøyene under øvingar med Infanteriets vinterskule. Responsen var god. Trøya hadde «visselig gitt frelse fra mangen forkjølelse». Alt då var det klart at trøya egna seg like godt til militær bruk som sivil.
Året før, i 1927, fekk også Brun eit brev frå 5. divisjons Infanteriunderoffiserskole i Trondheim, der han blir takka for «et svinagtig morsomt forsøk med dette telthus». Trøyene skulle avsendaren atter prøve ut til dagleg under sin ullkominasjon. Han måtte berre få kona til å stelle litt på trøyene under armane, så dei ikkje skulle gnage, slik dei første utgåvene gjorde.
Utvikling av vinterutstyr for Hans Majestet Kongens Garde.
Test av Brynja på Infanteriets Skyte- og vinterskule, Krigsskulen og befalskulane.
GJENNOM TRE VINTRAR (1930–32) var Brun engasjert av Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (HMKG) for å jobbe med vinterutstyr etter eigne prinsipp og idear. Brun skriv i 1932 at han var i Oslo for å førebu vinterforsøka. Gardistar tenestegjorde under han for å jobbe med alt frå uniformsdetaljar som vottar og fottøy til anna utstyr som snøspade, skibindingar, øks, spader, feltflaske, proviant, skikjelke, seksdukstelt og kokekar. Brun prøvde først ut oppfinningane på seg sjølv, så soldatane. Han drøymde om eit infanteri i stor fart, med høg kampkraft og høg kampevne, skriv Brun.
Ifølgje boka om Lunda, skriven av Bruns etterkommarar, gjennomførte Brun fleire forsøksturar med utgangspunkt frå leiren ved Elverum. Desse gjekk mellom anna gjennom Østerdalen, Rondane og Jotunheimen. Det meste av tida låg dei ute. Bruns erfaring var at om soldatane kom i varme hus, vart dei fortare sjuke.
Ein av forsøksturane skildra av Brun: Frå 11. februar til 10. mars 1931 la Brun ut på forsøkstur nummer to for Garden. Første etappe gjekk frå Terningmoen til Sel stasjon (kring 220 km). Seks av ni dagar fekk dei uvêr. Brun skriv at han aldri har brøyta seg fram gjennom så store mengder nysnø, med så dårleg glid på skia. Kvar av soldatane drog eller bar rundt 50 kilo kvar. På slutten av kvar etappe var det sett ut mat og reservedelar.
Etappe to gjekk frå Sel til Haugastøl (kring 250 km) i opptil liten storm og med dårleg sikt. Brun klagar også på kartverket mellom Hemsedal og Haugastøl. Tredje etappe gjekk frå Haugastøl til Uvdal (kring 80 km). Då dei kom opp på Hardangervidda, klarna det opp. Temperaturen sank til minus 20. Resten av vegen heim til Numedal var det strålande vêr og føre, før følget tok seg tre rastedagar i Uvdal.
Siste etappe gjekk til Bleiken stasjon der dei tok jernbanen til Gjøvik, båt til Hamar og jernbane til Elverum. Slik summerer Brun 80 mil og 22 marsjdagar med dårleg vêr og elendig føre: «Gardistene var friske og sterke, langt fra utslitte, etter turen. Grunnen er nok i første rekke god bekledning, godt utstyr og at kjelken hadde en rimelig vekt og var av en hensiktsmessig type».
I FEBRUAR 1933 skal også Brun ha halde eit foredrag for Oslo Militære Samfund om gode klede for vinterkrig på bakgrunn av forsøka. Kleda skapte debatt. Men på grunn av dårleg økonomi i Forsvaret kunne dei ikkje kjøpe inn alt dei ønskte seg. Brynja vart difor berre innført i nokre mindre avdelingar, og utdelt til elevar ved Infanteriets Skyte- og vinterskule, Krigsskulen og befalskulane. Tanken var å gi dei kjennskap til underkledene utan å bruke tvang, for å opne vegen for å bruke det som var sett på som eit godt militært feltplagg, går det fram av brev frå Bruns tid i Forsvaret.
Under foredraget i Oslo Militære Samfund fekk Brun spørsmål frå kronprins Olav om det var Brun som vart kalla Jern-Henrik, skriv Ulateig. Det var eit tilnamn Brun hadde fått då han leia fjellpatruljane. For alle visste at Brun var viljesterk og hadde eit veldig temperament. Dei som hadde opplevd sinnet og raseriutbrota til Brun, sa «Gær’n Henrik». Brun skal ha svart kronprinsen slik: «- Ja, men i Uvdal kaller de meg Svart-Henrik», skriv Ulateig.
I 1936 skreiv ein av dei som hadde følgt Bruns arbeid, Gardechef T. Graff-Wang, eit brev der han takkar for den iver og interresse som kapteinen viste: «Arbeidet kapteinen har utført i saken om infanteriets vinterutstyr vil danne et verdifullt bidrag til løsningen av dette vanskelige spørsmål.»
The Brynje mesh shirts are sold in Oslo
THE BRYNJE MESH SHIRTS WERE POPULAR and, among other things, sold from Mehren's men's equipment in Rosenkratz street in Oslo. An advertisement in the Saturday newspaper on March 14th 1936 shows that the store had Captain Bruns Brynje shirt and everything you needed in sportswear for Easter holidays. The shirt was sold in two types. A rough mesh shirt for outdoor work and hiking. And a thinner mesh shirt, also called "salongbrynja" (the lounge shirt), when using a collar. This shirt was well suited for everyday use in the city.
At the same time, the newspaper has a long article with good advice on the way to the high mountains. Here the Brynje shirt is thoroughly presented. Henrik was then an unpaid captain in the Norwegian army and a private farmer in Uvdal. Journalist Jørgen Juve emphasized that the development of practical mountain equipment had important aspects. Nevertheless, there were far too few who took the point, and also the Armed forces did not set aside enough money to develop winter equipment. "The private individuals who have dealt with this have had no other support than the general public", writes the journalist.
Brun wanted to be the first to ski the length of Greenland alone
Henrik Brun also wanted to test the equipment on a trip across the ice sheet in Greenland. He wanted to follow Nansen's route. Willie Knudsen, one of Norway's unknown polar "giant" with 33 years behind him in the Arctic, said that Brun wanted to be the first person to ski alone across the ice. He wanted to find out how military personnel could best get around and manage in polar regions. King Haakon supported the plans. Originally, the expedition was to have two participants, but Brun had to travel alone. He was given a ride on the polar ship "Quest" up the coast of Greenland in 1936. The boat anchored off the mainland not far from Clavering Island and Jordan Hill, a 1300 meter high mountain with a glacier on top. The start was to go from the Wordie glacier.
Knudsen and one other person on board "Quest" had volunteered to help Brun up on the glacier with supplies and equipment. Time worked against Brun, he had to start straight away. According to Knudsen, they looked "comically insignificant" under the enormous glacier. The glacier calved icebergs, the boulders filled the air and it was almost difficult to think. The glacier rivers, holes and and meltwater could take them straight to death. With rucksacks, guns and sleds in tow, they climbed up the mountain. Here it was probably only the Inuit and an expedition in 1932 that had been before them. After 25 extremely hard kilometres, Brun had to go on alone.
He had a sled with him that could adjust to the terrain, be folded together and carried on his back. Those who go on long expeditions today use similar sleds to carry equipment and food. But instead of being a trip in gently rising terrain, it was a single tough long slope. The sled was not solid enough. It could not withstand the hard ice on the glacier. Brun realized that he had to turn around. He camped at the foot of Jordan Hill. There, the polar veteran Otto Sverdrup was to pick him up with the ship "Polarbjørn" ("Polar bear") if something went wrong. The deadline was eight days. Brun got on board before the ship sailed back to Norway.
Photo: Henrik Brun at the Wordie Glacier in Greenland in 1936. (Source: The Brun family)
Words of praise from the Field Artillery Regiment in 1940
IN MARCH 1940, the Field Artillery Regiment had provided the Brynje mesh shirt to all personnel who went on neutrality duty. This was the first time the Brynje shirt was tested by an entire field battalion. In a letter addressed to Brun, it is stated that a total of 600 Brynje shirts were distributed. The words of praise were many.
- "During the spot tests, which have been carried out from time to time to clarify the crew's impression, the answer has always been the same, that its ventilating and insulating properties fully correspond to the expectations that had been set according to the previous advertising." (Chief of the Staff Battery, Captain Egers)
- "The soldiers managed to stay warm even in the severest cold (- 30). The reason for this was that, in addition to the clothing, the soldiers had been given a Brynje shirt (Brun's model). The shirt was used by all the soldiers and everyone was very satisfied." (3rd Field Battery Commander, Captain Smith)
- "The boys liked the Brynje shirts very much" (Commander of the 4th Field Battery, Captain Hellum)
During the Finnish Winter War (1939-40) there was also a great demand for Brynje mesh shirts, writes Lauritzen and Frøstrup. They add that much of Brun's equipment, such as uniforms and Brynje shirts, was also used by the unit he led during the battles at Narvik in the spring of 1940.
1940 - Second World War
NORWAY WAS ILL-EQUIPPED FOR WAR when the Second World War broke out. We had a "etiquette defense" without weapons. The government had declared that Norway should be neutral in the superpower conflict, which in reality did not happen, according to the Nasjonal Samling-friendly newspaper "Folk og Land". The editors of the newspaper also believed that the victorious side distorted and falsified history after the war.
Ten years after the war started, Brun wrote a report about Company 7 of the 15th Infantry Regiment under the 6th Field Brigade, which Brun led on the Narvik Front. He did not want to write the report during the war for fear that it could fall into the wrong hands. After the sentence as a country traitor, it was not relevant either. But in 1950 he changed his mind both with regard to his descendants and the company.
The experiences Captain Brun had in Narvik probably shaped his opinions later in life. Brun was almost a fanatical supporter of a strong defense and he was very critical of the Norwegian officers, who he believed failed in their task. Therefore we will here go more into detail about how things went with Brun during the war.
In the autumn of 1939, when the war between Finland and Russia broke out, Captain Brun had applied for leave from the Army to volunteer in Finland. He did not want Norway to experience the "disgrace" that Norwegian volunteers were led by foreign officers. But as an officer obliged to mobilize, he did not get leave. Therefore, Brun asked instead to be ordered as company commander at the neutrality guard in Northern Norway, which was located in Bardu. Because he was sure that the war would come.
Brun was now 42 years old, and one of the oldest company commanders. Nevertheless, he was one of the fittest, according to Ulateig. At the end of January 1940, he arrived. He spent the waiting time training the company and acquiring equipment. He wanted to give the soldiers a chance to survive. They barely had skis. He informed the regimental office that the salary was to be withheld as a guarantee for purchases he was going to make without approval from his superiors. Among other things, Brun procured 30 snow shovels, which he believed saved the company from major losses. He also procured equipment so that skis could be turned into emergency sledges for wounded soldiers, writes Brun in the report.
BRUN WAS SKEPTICAL about the other officers. He thought the duty to obey was hollowed out, so that discipline would not hold in battle. Brun had his own guidelines which he read out to his company under "pay attention and salute". The 150 soldiers were fishermen and small farmers from Ofoten and Vesterålen, who had never seen war, writes Ulateig.
Brun thought the officers needed a similar sharpening. On 18 March 1940, he wrote a letter to King Haakon, as supreme warlord, in which he called the Norwegian crew "civilians in uniform". He asked his majesty to remind them that they were obliged to obey. Because, as Brun wrote in the letter: "The officer corps must know deep down, that being an officer means giving with all one's ability unrelentingly." The letter never arrived. It was stopped by Brun's superiors.
Then came the war. On the evening of 8 April, Captain Brun received orders to lead the entire second battalion towards Narvik. It was the start of a five-week long front-line operation with marginal weapons and winter equipment. On the evening of 9 April, Brun heard Quisling ask the military to lay down their weapons. This increased the fighting spirit of the soldiers, and afterwards Brun wrote: "Quisling helped me well on 9 April."
Brun's company advanced and launched a series of attacks. Brun stood in front. Because it was side by side with the soldiers that he felt happier and safer ever since he was a child, writes Brun. He was proud of his soldiers. “Some of them act like pure heroes. The simple but faithful boys", Brun is said to have said, writes Ulateig.
The company distinguished itself in the battle, and had more fallen than any similar division. The division lost 15 men and made a heroic effort against the Germans at Gratangen, according to Lauritzen and Frøstrup. Brun demanded full obedience from the crew, while exposing himself to the same stresses as the soldiers, writes Solhjell. After the war, Brun was furious because none of the soldiers received any bonuses, as he believed they had so earnestly deserved. Ulateig adds that the 7th company was the first to be deployed against the Germans on the Narvik front, and the last to fire bullets at Dietl's fleeing soldiers when the town was recaptured.
“Killing prisoners is murder, and destroys ourselves. The situation is often nervous when you take prisoners. One must be alert, both to one's own and the enemy's movements. It is so easy for something to be misunderstood, and it will easily become a bloodbath. But once the prisoners are disarmed, then by God they are just some poor freezing devils who have obeyed an order, exactly like ourselves. If you have a cup of coffee to share, then do it. Remember one thing: We shall come out of this war as better people than we went into it. We must not do an unworthy act. The point of war is to win, it is not necessary to make piles of corpses." Henrik Brun to the soldiers in company 7 (Source: Fencing report kp.7/I.R.15 1940 by Henrik Brun)
BRUN WAS ALSO FURIOUS about what happened outside the company. English and French came ashore at Narvik. To the battalion commander, Brun is said to have said: "Before we are even fully mobilized, foreign troops are standing in Norway as our allies. Some strangers we must fight, others not. What kind of neutrality is this!” Later, he is said to have said: "I think there is far too much in this country that smells like shit. Quisling, government, Storting, press, major, etc. Shouldn't we ourselves create the act of soldiering as a basis for Norwegian spiritual upliftment!"
Brun's contempt for his superiors had now become strong and open. He almost had a calling to save the Norwegian army, writes Ulateig. Brun himself told of officers who tried to undermine his authority. They scolded him like a madman, writes Solhjell.
On May 18th he learned that the King and the government were nearby. Brun applied for leave to make another attempt to get the king to sharpen up the officers. He sent the letter to the king again together with a cover letter in which he wrote that the Army "acts as though there is peace, now as before ". If nothing was done to strenghten the Norwegian Armed forces, he would not bear the shame of wearing a Norwegian officer's uniform.
Brun took his threat seriously. 14 days later he sent an application to be relieved of his officer duties. He would rather be an ordinary, fighting soldier at the front. Soon after, on 7 June, the King and the government left the country. On 10 June, the remnants of the Norwegian army capitulated. Brun received the application in return. In mid-June 1940, he traveled home to Uvdal. In retrospect, Brun was frustrated that he was not allowed to stay until Narvik was recaptured and that he was too harsh with his superiors, the family says.
On 31 January 1945, 28 sergeants, corporals and privates, who had fought under Brun during the campaign in Narvik 1940, sent a letter to his wife Brita. They write that they knew the captain as a very brave and cold-blooded officer. When they discussed, Brun made no secret of the fact that he sympathized with the German people, not Hitler, and that he primarily had his own country's interests to look after. They write that company 7./I.R.15 was one of the best units under Brun's leadership. The company would hardly have coped with the many stresses it was exposed to without the training they had received from Brun. They reminded of the old saying "As the master, so his apprentice" and add that they can say with certainty that Captain Brun has the greatest honour. The letter is concluded by saying that they hoped the text would make it to the court case, and that it would benefit Captain Brun. (Source: Folk og Land, No. 1 – 1989)
THE CAPTAIN PRESENTED HIMSELF as relatively friendly to Germany, and in the great power conflict he was on the side of Germany. Nevertheless, he was first and foremost a national-minded Norwegian who wanted to protect the nation's honor. Even after the Germans had taken Setermoen, Brun raised the Norwegian split flag while German officers saluted. According to Solhjell, Brun gave expression to ideas about the right of the strongest, in addition to National Socialist ideology, where individuals and nations create their own destiny.
The way Brun saw it, the occupier - according to international law - were the legal masters as long as the war lasted. He pointed out that the military defense had capitulated, and that the king and the government had left the country. The country therefore had no legal, constitutional Norwegian supreme leader responsible for giving orders and directives for Norwegians' actions in Norway. According to Solhjell, this was not an unusual opinion in 1940. The fight for a free Norway and Europe had to be carried forward with the means at their disposal. Norwegians had to take their share of the responsibility.
From this point of view, it was not surprising that Brun stood up as an adviser to the Norwegian Legion. The organization was to be built up in the summer of 1941 on the initiative of Quisling, leader of the political party National Samling (NS), and the German Terboven, Reichskommissar for the occupied Norwegian areas. Before the war, NS had warned against what they perceived as irresponsible policies from the authorities. The party advocated a strong defence, an uncompromising policy of neutrality and wanted to unite the nation, according to Folk og Land.
The idea was that the Norwegian Legion would enter the front in Finland. Brun was intended for a role at the Organizational Office. But he enjoyed being with the soldiers, and therefore became company commander of the 1st company in the training camp at Gulskogen near Drammen, writes Solhjell.
Brenden and Natedal, who recently published the book "Norwegian volunteers in the Waffen-SS", state that Brun also was the first company commander of the 1st company in the Norwegian Legion. In the book, there are several pictures of the captain during the establishment of the legion. Together with the entire battalion, Brun and his company traveled by boat to Fallingbostel in Germany to get more education and to become a united unit on 30 June 1941.
Battalion commander Jørgen Bakke helped the Germans gain control of the legion. He knew that the unit could no longer stay united if the soldiers found out about the truth, that they were going to the Eastern Front. On departure, he insisted that the final destination was Finland. It is not clear whether Brun and the other non-commissioned officers knew that the soldiers were being deceived. Because in Germany, Bakke was appointed as the new commander of the entire Norwegian Legion by the Germans. In this way, the legion was torn free from the staff in Oslo.
IN FALLINGBOSTEL, THE SOLDIERS continued to practice without weapons. Brun didn't like that. "We are standing here in a foreign country, after 5 weeks, still without weapons, as if we were prisoners of war in an enemy country. We legionnaires, we front fighters are the real guarantors that Adolf Hitler keeps his word about a Free Norway", he is said to have stated in a speech to the soldiers on 17 August.
The next day they got weapons, but the German commanders kept Brun under surveillance. For Brun, Norwegian honor was at stake, German progress on the battlefields came second. Brun was now SS-Hauptsturmführer. In autumn, new legionnaires came from Gulskogen to Fallingbostel. Brun's time as a legionnaire came to an end. The German bosses wanted him gone. The direct reason why he was sent home, was a speech he gave during a reception for a German officer. There, Brun is said to have said: "Here we have come from Norway with open hearts and open minds to fight together with you on the Eastern Front. We have given you an open hand, but you have spat in it!”
The family says that the man from Uvdal said what he meant, and this was not accepted. According to Solhjell, Brun considered joining as a soldier, but then he chose to return home to Uvdal. His parting words was: "After all, boys, you feel Norway's honor burning in your hearts. Hang in there guys! Hold on!"
The Norwegian legionnaires never came to Finland. Most of them were buried during the war in the Soviet Union, writes Solhjell.
Back in Uvdal, Brun probably carried a fear that the Germans were after him. As a result of the explosion at the heavy water plant at Rjukan, the area was exposed to German raids. Brun was taken to court and his home in Lunda was searched by the Gestapo. Brun also knew about the Home Forces, of which there were many in Uvdal, but he did not reveal anything of what he saw and knew.
At this time the world was in crisis. Brun had thought the great enemy was Russia. Now he had fought for his country against the Germans and lost.
BRUN PLEDGED NOT GUILTY of letting the country down. In the court documents from the National Archives, the indictment against Brun was based on the fact that he joined National Samling on 3 January 1941, and that he remained a member until the capitulation. He applied for admission to the Rikshirden in January 1942, although he deregistered five days later. He served voluntarily in the Norwegian Legion from June 1941 to December of the same year. In the summer of 1942, he applied to be commissioned as a soldier in the Norwegian Legion. After the summer of 1942, Brun was no longer considered a detriment to the country. Then he stayed on the farm in Uvdal.
Brun was convicted of treason, even though he was in active service as a captain when the war broke out. In mitigation, the court points out that Brun had done a lot for the development of winter equipment. The Brynje shirt was highlighted, and he was praised for his efforts in Narvik. The court also emphasized that Brun had meant that the Norwegian Legion should act as Norway's liberators during the war, and the letter he sent Quisling and Terboven that Quisling had to withdraw in favor of the king, the government and a legally elected Storting.
He was sentenced to forced labor for three years, minus the 357 days he had spent in custody. Those closest to him said that the sentence was hard to swallow for someone who believed that he had always wanted the best for the country and the people. The fact that he was labeled a traitor to the country was something that haunted him for the rest of his life. Brun also lost the right to vote for ten years. He lost the right to serve in the national government and was not allowed to do public service. The punishment was logging in Verjedalen. Brun didn't like this, so he got to dig ditches instead. Only when Brun was in his 50s did he become a free man.
His daughter Vesle Helga says that life did not turn out quite as Brun had imagined. After the war, he would like to move to Helgeland, after falling in love with the region; but his wife Brita objected. Brun wanted to prove that he could manage without a forest, and gave the forest to the four children. At home in Lunda, he sold the cows and started up again with sheep. Some time after the war, Brita lost her job as a teacher in Kyrkjebygda. She then felt that she had to go away in order to live on. The couple separated in 1952. The youngest children were with Brita. Brun lived alone and looked after the sheep. This was a difficult time. He had to find a way to live on. Brun thought and he wrote. In lonely moments he wore down the floorboards. According to Helga E., Brun's niece, the uncle lived mostly in his thoughts.
- It was easy to get entangled in ideology, and quite another task to untangle yourself. Even when it turns out that you have been in league with thugs. It is, if nothing else, a lesson we can learn from the twentieth century, says Helga E. in the book about the family in Lunda.
Jacobsen in Larvik machine-produced Brun's mesh shirt after the war.
IN 1887 JACOB JACOBSEN LEFT his extended family in Denmark to settle in Larvik, Norway. There he established J. Jacobsen Trikotaje and Confectionery. Four generations later, Bjørn Jacob Melsom stands at the helm. The company is now called Brynje of Norway, and is one of the oldest family-owned knitwear companies in Norway. Melsom, who has been in the family business since he was a child, is very clear in his speech:
- It is Captain Brun's mesh shirt that made us what we are. Not many Norwegian knitwear factories has had similar success. The idea came from Uvdal, the brand is now world-renowned.
- How did you come into contact with Brun?
- It was machine knitting that was difficult for Brun. He had no machines or money to get the shirt produced. When he came to us, he had been around several places without success. It probably had to do with the fact that he had been convicted a traitor to his country. The army no longer wanted anything to do with him. He spoke to my father, who had Raschel machines to produce the shirts. We made knitted prototypes to see if it could be done. We had the technique to make them, even if the holes were a little smaller than on the coarse crocheted shirts, says Melsom.
Melsom must end the call in order to accept a delivery. When Hallingdølen calls again he has found the document folder.
- As I have understood it, Brun was happy to get something in return for the work with the mesh shirt. 2,000 NOK was the maximum he got out of a job that had taken him around 30 years. We had faith in his invention, and in that way he made sure that his work was passed on, says Melsom before adding:
- Fortunately, Brun got something for the invention. The amount was a good chunk of money by the standards of the time. Norway was one of the poorest countries in Europe at the time. It was cheap to produce here, with raw material from, among others, Portugal, Spain, the USA and Egypt.
MELSOM SAYS that just after the war, the Norwegian Armed Forces would like to have the jersey produced. That was probably part of the explanation for why the family business took an interest in "Brynja". Together with the Army, they developed a prototype.
- We didn't get the first tender. It was probably a shock at the time, as it was about shirts for many soldiers. The reason is of course the price. A total of 14 companies submitted tenders. We had the papers ready, but the Norwegian Armed Forces had to have several bidders to run a tender competition. In the case of public tenders, it is permitted to copy and make patents available to others. The disadvantage of the system is that others are free to exploit. We have experienced it many times, as we are not the cheapest. It's tough, but those are the rules of the game. It's sad to lose anyway, because there are many who wants to sell.
- What do you mean?
- Among other things, we sold a Raschel machine to Edvin Thorson Jr., the man behind the EKT health shirt. Thorson was one of many who "jumped on the health shirt wave". At this point we had already developed Bruns mesh shirt further in collaboration with the Norwegian Armed Forces and bought and registered the brand name. Thorson entered the marked early, but by this time we had already developed the first machine-produced mesh health shirt, says Melsom.
Melsom tells that the first tender the Army issued went to a manufacturer further north in Norway. Nevertheless, the family business did not give up. Instead, they looked for other places to sell the Brynje mesh shirt.
- We were lucky even if we were unlucky. This way we got a foothold outside the country's borders.
Mt. Everest in 1953 and abroad
AND THE MESH SHIRT ATTRACTED ATTENTION. In 1953, Brynje equipped the first expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay wore the Brynje mesh shirt next to their skin.
- Our importer in England sold mesh shirts in buckets and pails. They were originally Polish fighter pilots in England during the war. The company started importing equipment and came up with the idea of equipping the Everest expedition with the Brynje shirt. I have no idea how we came into contact with them. After all, these were military personnel, and there were close ties between England and Norway. It is not inconceivable that they had heard about the mesh shirt through the Armed Forces. In any case, it was top marketing for Brynje, and did wonders for the export of the shirts.
At the same time, the mesh shirt was used more and more by sports stars. A completely new concept for civilian use was born. Swedish Ingemar Johansson, who later became world champion in heavyweight boxing in the 1960s, was sponsored with Brynje mesh and a fee of NOK 1,500. According to Melsom, Brynje was one of the first underwear manufacturers to sponsor athletes, something that changed both the popularity and the sale of the garment.
Brun's invention made the knitwear factory in Larvik switch from women's fashion and children's clothing to garments for the active, the military, sports and outdoor life. After the war, people also emphasized more leisure time and use of nature, which now benefited Brynje. At its peak, the company delivered a volume of 150,000-200,000 garments. The Brynje mesh shirt has been part of several fashion trends, where Brynje has sometimes not been able to produce enough.
Although THORSON JR. and his EKT shirts were made on Brynje's machines, they were still a competitor.
- The EKT shirt and Brynje became about the same size in Norway. EKT was perhaps bigger than Brynje in this country, says Melsom.
He further says that at the end of the 50s, Brynje went to trial against EKT over the brand name, which they won. The end of the story was that Brynje bought back the machines from Thorson when he retired, and they took over the right to produce under the name EKT for regular customers and for Langedrag Nature Park in Nore and Uvdal.
- Nevertheless, it was more appropriate for us to produce under the name "Brynje", which was a bigger brand on a global basis, adds Melsom.
Melsom says that when the Norwegian Armed Forces came back to Brynje after a few years, the business lived well on exports plus deliveries to the Army. The Brynje shirt has been further developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Armed Forces for many years and many adaptations have been made. They still sell shirts to the Norwegian Special forces.
- The history of Brun, innovation work and testing of hiking equipment have meant a lot to Brynje. We still live because of the health shirt, but now it comes not only in cotton, but in wool and synthetic material. We have various mixtures and even socks in the same principle as Brun invented, Melsom tells and adds:
- The Brynje shirt is an export success from Uvdal. There is nothing like it. The shirt has been involved in so many things: The longest tours, the highest peaks, on foot, on skis and by bike. It has been to the North Pole, the South Pole, Greenland and Antarctica. Captain Brun was a capable fellow. I give great thanks to Brun and his invention. Because even if Brun ended up on the wrong side during the war, it's about time he get's credit. Because this is an example of a great Norwegian who was among the toughest. He wanted to defend Norway and give the country a different rearmament than was the case before the war. He deserves all honor, concludes the clothing manufacturer in Larvik.
SOURCES
Hallingdølen has gained access to material from the Brun family, which contains documentation such as newspaper clippings, Henrik Brun's own notes, letters, a prototype of the mesh shirt and the report that Brun wrote after his efforts on the Narvik front. In addition, we have used material from the book "Familien Brun på Lunda 1912 til 2012", written by Henrik's son, Arvid Bøckmann Brun. We have been in contact with the family business Brynje of Norway, which industrialized Brun's invention and made it available to the masses. We have supplemented information from the book "Bygdehistorie for Nore og Uvdal" by Kåre Olav Solhjell and the article "Norges tapte våpenære?", written by Kåre Olav Solhjell. The article can be found in the archive of the Norwegian Occupation History Foundation. There we also found information in the newspaper "Folk og Land", No. 1 - 1989. We have also used the book "Fjellpionerer" by Per Roger Lauritzen and Johan Christian Frøstrup, the Vi Menn article "Jern-Henrik - too tough for the SS" by Egil Ulateig and the book "Mitt Arktis" about Willie Knutsen, Norway's unknown polar hero, written by son Will C. Knutsen.