Was your Ascot one of those where you lit an external burner and then swung it under the boiler into the middle of hissing gas jets? We had one of those when I was a child with a very stiff burner which meant that gas had been flowing for some time before ignition commenced in a somewhat spectacular fashion. Still it was a step up from heating up kettles on the range. And in early 50's rural Northants we still had those along with the remnants of gas lighting. You see, I am an old geezer really.

Pete