NAM.1963-10-241-1

Rattan dhal; shield Used by Mr Thomas Henry Kavanagh as part of his disguise to pass through ‘Mutineer’ lines at Lucknow 1857. Edge bordered with iron strip; four bosses on outer surface; interior with four iron rings and padding, one broken grip strap attached to two of the rings. Thomas Kavanagh won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). On 9 Nov 1857, he stained his hands and face, cut his fair hair short and wore the dress of a native irregular soldier, and escaped from the besieged Residency at Lucknow in order to guide in the relieving force. 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)