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Admiral of the fleet is scuttled by an exploding cheese fondue
Last updated at 22:52pm on 29.12.07After a naval career spanning nearly 50 years, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Julian Oswald has encountered a good many perils.
But there was little he could do to defend his dinner party guests when a fondue set burst into flames, scattering molten cheese and hot oil.
Sir Julian, a veteran of the Cold War and a former First Sea Lord, and his wife Veronica, escaped injury.
But three of his guests - a teenage girl and a man and a woman both in their 40s - received serious burns on their face, hands and arms.
Dinner host: Former Admiral of the Fleet Sir Julian Oswald, who escaped injury in the explosion
Three other guests at his £1million home sustained minor burns.
Firemen were called to the detached, five-bedroom house in the village of Shedfield in Hampshire, after the explosion at around 8.20pm on Thursday night.
The fire - thought to have been started when a small gas cylinder in the fondue set exploded - was quickly extinguished by a crew of retained firemen from nearby Wickham Fire Station.
A rapid response unit and three ambulance crews from Hampshire Ambulance Service also attended.
The six injured were treated at the scene and then taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
It was unclear last night whether the injured, who have not been named, were hit by molten cheese or burnt by the gas explosion.
The girl, understood to be a 15-year old-relative of Sir Julian, was transferred to the burns unit at Salisbury District Hospital.
Sir Julian's £1million home in Hampshire
Fondue is a traditional communal Swiss dish. Cheese is melted in a pan and food, usually bread, is dipped into it.
Burns: The exploding fondue set, like this one pictured, injured six people aged between 15 and 44
Yesterday father of five Sir Julian refused to comment when approached by reporters at his luxury home set in an acre of woodland.
A neighbour said: "This was not a pleasant incident and you have to feel sorry for those who suffered burns.
"Sir Julian and his wife are a lovely couple and have lived around here for years. We cannot believe it has happened.
"We always see them out in the village and he always stops and says hello and has a chat.
"They are just really down-tofriendly people." Sir Julian, who was born in Selkirk, Scotland, served in the Navy for 46 years before retiring in 1993.
He entered Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1947 and was later commanding officer on the frigate HMS Bacchante and the destroyer HMS Newcastle.
He served during the Cold War before becoming Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in 1982.
Sir Julian spent four years as First Sea Lord, the highest job in the Navy, between 1989 and 1993.
He lists his hobbies in Who's Who as "walking, stamp collecting, family and fishing."
