I heard about a similar experience with a Coffman starter from a now departed acquaintance in my local.
As a National Serviceman in the early fifties he was an engine fitter in the RAF and was posted to Singapore, tending mainly Mosquitos, Hornets and Vampires.
IIRC, an RNZAF squadron equipped with Venoms was posted to the same airfield and came under Doug's care.
Apparently he found out - very suddenly - that the DH Ghost in the Venom had a cartridge starter. When he pressed the start button, there was a loud bang, a cloud of smoke and he was out of the cockpit and off down the runway at a rate of knots.
As an aside, I once took him to the DH Museum at London Colney. Although he'd never really thought about it, having worked on Vampires and Venoms he'd always assumed the Sea Vixen, being of a similar configuration, was basically a further development of the same aircraft.
I can't remember his exact words when confronted with the enormous beast, and even if I could I couldn't post it here, but it was very loud and and the first word began with F...