Victoria Cross awarded to Irishman — the first given to a civilian — sells for €1m
The bravery of the Mullingar clerk in crossing the lines at the Siege of Lucknow won him the first ever Victoria Cross given to a civilian. Picture: Noonans
The first Victoria Cross (VC) awarded to a civilian – an Irishman called Thomas Henry Kavanagh – has been sold at auction for a world record price of over €1m.
The medal had a guide price of between £300,000 (€347,000) and £400,000 (€462,000) but it exceeded all expectations when it went under the hammer on Wednesday for £930,000 (€1,073,355) the Mayfair-based auctioneers, Noonans.
Bought by a collector, it was awarded nearly 165 years ago to Mr Kavanagh during his time working in the Bengal civil service in India when he risked his life on a daring mission to save thousands of people trapped by rebel soldiers.
The bravery of the Mullingar clerk in crossing the lines at the Siege of Lucknow won him the first ever Victoria Cross given to a civilian — one of only five ever handed out to non-military personnel — and turned him into a 19th-century celebrity.
The rarity of the medal — it is only awarded to those whose heroism takes place “in the presence of the enemy” — is the reason it is thought to have fetched a record price for a VC medal.
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Oliver Pepys, Associate Director and Medal Specialist at Noonans, said Mr Kavanagh’s bravery 165 years ago stands out as one of the most premeditated and sustained acts of gallantry in the history of the Victoria Cross.
He said: “The price achieved at auction demonstrates the high regard which Kavanagh is still held in today.”
The price surpassed the previous record of £840,000 (€971,000) for a Victoria Cross won by a naval hero who allowed his ship to be torpedoed so he could lure a German U-boat close enough to sink it. Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell's decoration was bought by an aristocratic relative.
Mr Kavanagh received the medal from England's Queen Victoria — who would lean down from her horse to pin the medal on recipients — on his return from northern India.
Born on July 15, 1821, in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Mr Kavanagh found himself and his young family trapped in a siege of the British residency in the city of Lucknow in 1857.
The siege was a key battle in the Indian uprising against the British East India Company, which ruled India as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown.
After a few months under siege, the Irishman volunteered to disguise himself as an Indian soldier in November 1857, and passed through enemy lines in the city with a local man, aiming to reach a relief force that was winding its way towards Lucknow.
The two men made their way past enemy sentries, forded rivers, and narrowly avoided capture after startling a farmer who raised the alarm, before reaching the relief column and guiding them back into the beleaguered city.
Mr Pepys said Mr Kavanagh's exploits made him a legend in the Victorian era.
“He was decorated with the highest honour for undertaking an epic quest to escape the surrounded residency at night, crossing enemy lines, making contact with the camp of the commander-in-chief, and then using his local knowledge to guide the relieving force through the city to the beleaguered garrison by the safest route.
“The first of just five civilians to have been awarded the VC, he was further rewarded with a promotion to the gazetted post of Assistant Commissioner of Oude and was presented with his Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria in a special ceremony at Windsor Castle.
“A tour of England and Ireland further enhanced his celebrity.”
He said the publication of Mr Kavanagh’s account of the siege called along with a painting of him in disguise by the painter Orlando Norrie ensured that he became a “Victorian legend”.
One of the youngest ever recipients of the VC was another Westmeath man, Thomas Flynn, who was a 15-year-old drummer boy in his father’s regiment — which was part of the relieving force. The wounded youngster, from Athlone, received his medal for engaging two rebel gunners in hand-to-hand combat in the same battle where Kavanagh showed his heroics.
Mr Kavanagh proudly wore his medal during his lifetime and dined out on his heroic exploits in the British colony. The medal was sold after his death and is only among two out of the five civilian medals currently not in a museum.
“The Victoria Cross is the highest honour in the British honour system,” said Mr Pepys.
“From a medal collector’s point of view, this is the pinnacle. Consequently, it’s the medal that normally commands the highest price."
While only five VCs were given to civilians, they include another Irishman, Cork clergyman James Williams Adams, in 1879.
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