Thomas Henry Kavanagh VC (15 July 1821 – 13 November 1882) was a member of the

Bengal Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

and Irish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry which can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. He is one of only five civilians to have ever been awarded the VC.

Indian Mutiny

Kavanagh was a 36-year-old

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

in the

, an assistant

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

Oudh The Kingdom of Awadh (, , also Oudh State, Kingdom of Oudh, Awadh Subah, or Awadh State) was a Mughal subah, then an independent kingdom, and lastly a British protectorate in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the Br ...

during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

, when the following deed took place on 9 November 1857 at the

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross:

erratum An erratum or corrigendum (: errata, corrigenda) (comes from ) is a correction of a published text. Generally, publishers issue an erratum for a production error (i.e., an error introduced during the publishing process) and a corrigendum for an a ...

appeared in a later edition of the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' stating that the deed was actually performed on 9 November as follows: He was nicknamed by the British press as Lucknow Kavanagh.

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. Kavanagh died in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

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

Noonans Mayfair Noonans Mayfair, formerly Dix Noonan Webb, is an auction house based in London. It specialises in coins, medals, jewellery and paper money. Since being established, the firm has sold over 400,000 lots. It holds regular traditional auctions throu ...

on 14 September 2022 for a record

hammer price In auctions, the buyer's premium is a charge in addition to the hammer price (i.e. the winning bid announced) of an auction item, or lot. The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price and the percentage of that price called for by t ...

of £750,000.

In fiction

Kavanagh appears in George MacDonald Fraser's ''

Flashman in the Great Game ''Flashman in the Great Game'' is a 1975 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fifth of the Flashman novels. Plot introduction Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bu ...

'' in which he is portrayed as a bungling glory-seeker who has to be led through the enemy lines by a reluctant and terrified Flashman.

Sources

* * ''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

'' (1981, 1988 and 1997) * * * *

References

External links

Thomas Henry Kavanagh VC
*
National Army Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Thomas Henry 1821 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from Mullingar Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross Administrators in British India Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross