Obituary: Ivan Jacobs whose father made Sutton Hoo discovery

Ivan Jacobs was a kind and sociable man, who was still happily giving lifts to his neighbours in Kesgrave well into his 90s. 

He was also the son of John Jacobs. Mr Jacobs was the second gardener to Edith Pretty’s Sutton Hoo estate, and was part of the team which found the buried remains of an Anglo-Saxon funeral ship, in what has since been called “one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time” by the British Museum. 

Ivan was born in Melton in 1928 to John Jacobs and his wife, Ethel. Ivan was the first of three children.

The Jacobs soon moved to a cottage on the Sutton Hoo estate, with Ethel becoming Mrs Pretty’s cook and John joining the garden staff. 

Ivan was 11 years old when the self-taught archeologist Basil Brown arrived to excavate the mounds. 

Speaking to the EADT in 2021, he said: “I often used to go down there with my father to see what was happening. 

"I would stand at the side and watch what they were doing. All of Mrs Pretty's staff were told to take part in the dig - except Mr Lyon, the chauffeur, because she still needed to get about." 

Ivan’s daughters, Sheila and Greta, grew up hearing stories of the dig. Indeed, Greta remembers once seeing her grandfather in a television documentary, recalling the moment he found the first rivet. 

A young Ivan sitting astride a BSA motorcycle, with Tranmer House visible in the background. Image: Family of Ivan Jacobs (Image: Family of Ivan Jacobs)

Here come the lads! William Spooner and John Jacobs- gamekeeper and gardener respectively #TheDig pic.twitter.com/JXEpBfSHSC

— Sutton Hoo (@NT_SuttonHoo) January 29, 2021

Ivan survived a childhood during the Second World War. He attended Melton Council School, and remembered bombs being dropped behind the building on more than one occasion.  

He left school at age 14, first becoming an assistant gardener in Woodbridge before finding work at Notcutts nurseries.

After two years working in the fields, Ivan was called to join the RAF for national service. 

“The 20th of November 1946 was a bad day for my mum,” Ivan wrote in his memoir, for she knew he would be gone for a long time. He spent the next two and a half years travelling the UK, keeping a treasured letter from his mother tucked safely in his wallet. 

In 1951, Ivan married Edna Buckthorpe, the woman who would become his wife for the next 55 years, and with whom he shared two daughters. 

Ivan enjoying his retirement some years ago. Image: Family of Ivan Jacobs (Image: Family of Ivan Jacobs)

Ivan continued to live independently at his home in Kesgrave until he died, aged 94. Image: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

Ivan had returned to Notcutts after his service and remained there for the next 25 years.

His next job was as a traffic warden in Ipswich. “I did not mind the job, but we were obviously not liked by the general public,” Ivan wrote. “I survived three and a half years, but was punched on two occasions by some wild characters.” 

Ivan held two more positions before he finally retired; 12 years as a maintenance man for the Independent Broadcasting Authority, working at its base in Mendlesham; and then 14 years as a groundsman at the newly opened community hall complex in Kesgrave, where he and Edna had since moved. 

After Edna died, Ivan began volunteering for Kesgrave Help Centre, driving people around the town to their various appointments. He was also a regular churchgoer, until the pandemic arrived in March 2020.

It was during the pandemic that Ivan is believed to have written his memoirs. 

“Like the song says, ‘If I can help somebody, then my living shall not be in vain,’” he wrote.

Many people around Kesgrave knew and loved Ivan; he was known for his immense kindness, and his willingness to help people wherever he could.

Ivan continued to live independently at his home in Kesgrave until he died on July 3, aged 94.

He is survived by his daughters, Sheila and Greta, his four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.