When I was about 7 years old, circa 1960 at a guess, on my regular 1 mile walk home from school (alone) I found a pigskin wallet (I clearly remember that bit because it said “pigskin” branded into the surface on the inside) with £55 inside.
I took it home to my mum and she said I should take it to the police. So together we went to the local cop-shop (which is now I pub I believe) and when inside, she ushered me to the reception window, insisting on me being the one who reported it “found” to the police (not her).
The policeman was very proper, filled in the “found” report and he told me that my mum had done the right thing, because if the owner claims it back, that could be his and his family’s means of survival for several weeks. If not the money would be mine to keep as an unclaimed find.
We then had a knock on the door from the police about a week later (we didn’t have a phone, which was not unusual in those days) to inform us that the owner had reported the loss. And that it had been returned to him. Then the next day, the owner came to our house to thank me for handing it in. He was the local corner-shop owner, Mr. Bell, a shop where I would often spend my weekly pocket money.
He was very grateful of course and he gave me 2/6d for my honesty. 2/6d was about 5 weeks’ pocket money to me at that time, so it was a huge “thank you” in my eyes.
£55 was an inordinate amount of money to me then, considering my dad was earning something like £15/week (the average wage) then.
The value of money is relative, always was and always will be. What is loose change to some can be a weeks wages to another. I’ve learned that even more so by visiting other countries and seeing the difference in values of money and property compared with the closed society we grow up in as kids.
The cleaner on the bus was very honest handing in the £300k, but of course, as the designated cleaner of that particular bus, apart from his honesty he was probably concerned that it’s dissapearance could imply that he had found/taken it, even if proof of the fact might be more difficult.
Honesty is not dead thank goodness, I’ve had examples of this all through my life, but like everyone, I’ve also experienced the dishonesty that goes on, and sadly that tends to be considered the norm more than honesty, which is a shame.
I hope that £300k is illicit drug money and goes unclaimed. The cleaner will then get the benefit of it and rightly so, for his honesty.