Thomas Henry Kavanagh
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Thomas Henry Kavanagh | |
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Indian Mutiny | |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Thomas Henry Kavanagh
He is one of only five civilians to have ever been awarded the VC.
Indian Mutiny
Kavanagh was a 36-year-old
Mr. Thomas Henry Kavanagh, Assistant Commissioner in Oude On 8 November 1857. Mr. Kavanagh, then serving under the orders of Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, in Lucknow, volunteered on the dangerous duty of proceeding through the City to the Camp of the Commander-in-Chief, for the purpose of guiding the relieving Force to the beleaguered Garrison in the Residency, a task which he performed with chivalrous gallantry and devotion.[1]
An
The Act of Bravery for which Mr Thomas Henry Kavanagh has been awarded the Victoria Cross, was performed on 9 November 1857, instead of 8 November, as stated in the London Gazette of 8 July 1859.[2]
He was nicknamed by the British press as Lucknow Kavanagh.[3]
Later life
In addition to the Victoria Cross, Kavanagh was promoted to be an assistant commissioner in Oudh, and helped in the suppression of scattered mutineers.[3]
Kavanagh died in Gibraltar on 13 November 1882, and is buried at North Front Cemetery, Gibraltar. He was one of only five civilians ever to be awarded the VC.
His medal (and a first edition of his book, How I Won The Victoria Cross) was held for more than 50 years by HistoricalMilitaria.com in Toronto, Canada.
The VC was sold at auction at
In fiction
Kavanagh appears in
Sources
- Kavanagh, T. H. (1860). How I Won The Victoria Cross. London: Ward & Lock.
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
- Clarke, Brian D. H. (1986). "A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men". The Irish Sword. XVI (64): 185–287.
- Ireland's VCs. Belfast: Research Department, Farset Youth and Community Development. 1995. ISBN 1-899243-00-3.
- Harvey, David (1999). Monuments to Courage.
- Doherty, Richard; Truesdale, David (2000). Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross.
References
- ^ "No. 22283". The London Gazette. 8 July 1859. p. 2629.
- ^ London Gazette
- ^ a b "Lucknow Kavanagh". The Times. 23 November 1882. p. 10.
- ^ "Victoria Cross awarded to Irishman sells for nearly £1m". RTÉ News. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
External links
Media related to Thomas Henry Kavanagh at Wikimedia Commons
