Kavanagh's heroism'. An illustration depicts Irish officer Thomas Henry Kavanagh creeping through the streets of Lucknow in disguise during the Siege of Lucknow. Kavanagh volunteered for the mission, for which he won the Victoria Cross, and successfully guided a British relief force to the besieged garrison of the British Residency. Lucknow, North Western Provinces (Uttar Pradesh), India, 1857. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, Southern Asia, Asia.