Old Time Radio Mystery, Suspense, & Horror · Dakoda Black

1095 - The Victoria Cross (Suspense)

February 18, 2026·27 min·1 clip

Housemaster Vale finds the popular schoolboy Giles Bateman dead in his room with a cricket bat.

The opening scene starts in desperation. A captain begs for medicine to make him forget, while the nurse says the doctor has ordered no more. He is not looking for rest. He wants the past shut off. That dread follows Mr. Vale into the school scene, where he is asked to write a glowing letter for Giles Bateman. Vale cannot do it. He tells the head that Bateman has no integrity, rules by fear, cheats, and bullies. The truth does not land cleanly. The head hears a personal grudge and sends Vale away to think again, for his own good. For a moment, Vale almost feels lighter. Maybe he has said the honest thing. Maybe fear did not speak for him this time. Then Bateman comes to his room and presses the blackmail again, threatening to tell Mr. Walkley or the constable what he learned from the girl at the Dagger and Drum. Vale tries to hold his ground, but Bateman knows too much. Prison is suddenly not an idea. It is close. The confession at the end makes the Victoria Cross feel less like honor and more like evidence against him. Vale names his post at Peckham House, his bravery at Pablook, and then the ugly truth: he nearly let the boy plead guilty for a murder Vale committed. The medal cannot fix that.

As heard by us

Herbert Marshall keeps the drama grounded as a schoolroom dispute hardens into blackmail and murder, and the ending lands with a cold snap.

Herbert Marshall keeps the drama grounded, which makes the pressure on the housemaster feel even tighter as a schoolroom dispute hardens into blackmail and murder. The ending has a cold snap to it, and the final confession lands cleanly.

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Why you'd press play

You want a blackmail spiral, a Victoria Cross, and a murder confession inside one tense old-radio hour.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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