NAM.1963-10-126-1

Talwar (or tulwar), sword. Curved blade, with three fullers, one short, two long on each side, and a double edged for the last 9 in; plain hilt, but for the simple pierced and chiselled decoration of the langets; Royal United Service Institute list states that this weapon was carried by T H Kavanagh VC, Asst Comm, Bengal Civil Service, 1857 (c), who was awarded the Victoria Cross at the siege of Lucknow, where he passed through the siege lines of mutineers, disguised as an Indian, and guided the relief force in, 9 Nov 1857. Associated with Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). Kavanagh’s description of his disguise was: ‘I was dressed as a bud mash [budmash], or as an irregular soldier of the city, with sword and shield, native-made shoes, tight trousers, a yellow silk koortah [kurta] over a tight-fitting white muslin shirt, a yellow-coloured chintz sheet thrown round my shoulders, a cream-coloured turban, and a white waist-band or kummerbund.’ His outfit was completed with a ‘pair of broad pyjamahs’.

Lucknow, Siege of, 1857 (Indian Mutiny 1857-1859)