WARM tributes have been paid to a highly-respected antique arms and armour dealer who was killed in a car crash.

Garth Vincent, 63, died on the A1 after his Jaguar XK8 spun out of control and ploughed into a tree.

His funeral will be held today at Alderton Church, near Woodbridge.

Although Mr Vincent had moved away from Suffolk he still had close links to the area. He was travelling back from the county to his home in Lincolnshire when he was killed last Friday.

His brother, Barry, 65, lives in Alderton, while his father George, who passed away last year aged 97, was the rector of Alderton, Ramsholt and Bawdsey, as well as the padre at RAF Bawdsey.

Mr Vincent was born in Ipswich and was educated at Hillcroft Preparatory School near Stowmarket and the Academy at Old Felixstowe, which later moved to Stanley Road and became St Peters. He then went to Ipswich Civic College and on to university before teaching at a school in Nottingham.

He became interested in antiques and his hobby soon became his passion. He gave up teaching and started dealing, specialising in pre-First World War armour.

His great knowledge led to him being admitted into the Freedom of the City of London in 2002, one of the oldest surviving traditional honours going back to the 1200s.

Last night his brother, Barry, said: “He had close links with the county and was thinking about moving back.

“He had a love of the River Deben and kept a boat at Woodbridge and then Woolverstone.

“He was a quintessential English gentleman. He loved the English way of life.”

Mr Vincent moved to Allington Manor in Lincolnshire in 1981, transforming it from a dilapidated building with trees growing through the roof to a family home and venue. His three sons, Dominic, Byron and Leo, paid tribute to their “inspirational father”, who also leaves wife Paula, daughter Helen, who lives in Dedham, and four grandchildren.

Dominic said: “When he was younger and working as a landscape gardener, he found a bayonet. He cleaned it up and took it to an antiques dealer who said it wasn’t worth very much, but that sparked his interest.

“He was probably one of the leading minds in the field in the world. He could sell anything to anybody and his enthusiasm was infectious.”

The funeral will be held at 2pm. Donations to the MS Society.

For more details, call 01400 282574.