Combustible Films

During the winter in the late 60's we would sometimes have the Saturday films in the "games area" in the annex. The table tennis tables would be removed and the screen set up in a corner and the projector would be on a table in the locker room adjoining the 12 dorm. Now it is well known that there were a few boys that are alleged, "I say 'alleged' because I don't know...." (remember that phrase??) to be habitual smokers. ("I will not have smokers in my school") .
During the film one of these who had been at the back of the locker room unbeknown to me had lit up. Sometime later I became aware of a smouldering smell and of smoke being drawn through the projector by its cooling fan. (Bell and Howell 652, remember it?).
Realising that the projector wasn't at fault we looked elsewhere, and found to our horror that a mattress in the corner was smouldering! Obviously set alight by the cigarette end. Panic set in. What were we going to do with a big smouldering mattress? Worse still suppose it burst into flame and set fire to the annex. Even worse, suppose the Headmaster found out, there would be lashings of cane in all directions, and as the only senior prefect present I would probably get most of the blame!
Then in the darkness of this smoke-filled room a bright idea occurred. There was an outside urinal built onto the back wall of the Shooting Lodge by the bike sheds opposite the annex. There was always running water in there and its big enough to dunk a mattress in. So two or three of us man-handled the smouldering mattress into the urinal and detailed someone else to open all the windows to get rid of the smoke. We left it there for the rest of the film show hoping that nobody "went" in there! There was no light as I remember so it was unlikely to be used at night.
What were we to do with a burnt soggy smelly mattress? You can't hide something that big. Oh yes we can! Find some poor sods trunk in one of the locker rooms, one of the old ones that have been left behind, and put it in there. This we did, and we were never found out, and to this day I have no idea who the trunk belonged to or when it was discovered.
The locker room part II.
During another film a certain dayboy and his girlfriend, who was a daygirl (that sounds odd!), were in this same locker room with me during the film. After a while I realised that they had gone and thought nothing of it. Probably got bored with the film and gone home, they were day pupils after all. Not a bit of it! Someone came rushing in from somewhere hissing "Potts coming!!" Bang crash thump panic. The door behind me burst open and in struggled my two friends in a state of undress struggling to make themselves decent in the flickering light of the projector. They vaulted over the table into the main area and all was calm. I cannot actually remember if the HM did come in, but er, mmm, I like the underwear!