Thomas Monaghan VC ( ga, Tomás Ó Manacháin; 18 April 1833 – 10 November 1895) was a British recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces, 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 fo ...

Monaghan was born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. At 25 years of age, Monaghan was a

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

in the

2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

during the Indian Mutiny Monaghan and the Dragoon ( Charles Anderson) were both awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery. Monaghan eventually achieved the rank of sergeant-trumpeter. His grave is at Woolwich cemetery,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Queen's Dragoon Guards Regimental Museum at

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(S.E. London)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaghan, Thomas British recipients of the Victoria Cross 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) soldiers Welsh soldiers 1833 births 1895 deaths Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Abergavenny British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Welsh recipients of the Victoria Cross