Alan Ross McWhirter (12 August 1925 – 27 November 1975) was, with his twin brother, Norris, the cofounder of the 1955 ''Guinness Book of Records'' (known since 2000 as ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'') and a contributor to the television programme ''

Record Breakers ''Record Breakers'' was a British children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001. It was originally presented by Roy Castle with Guinness World Reco ...

''. He was killed by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

(IRA) in 1975.

Early life

McWhirter was the youngest son of William McWhirter, editor of the ''

Sunday Pictorial The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'', and Margaret "Bunty" Williamson. He was born at Giffnock (after Giffnock Church in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, where the McWhirters were married), 10 Branscombe Gardens,

Winchmore Hill Winchmore Hill is a suburb and electoral ward in the Borough of Enfield, North London, in the N21 postal district. With the Winchmore Hill conservation area as a focal point, the district is bounded on the east by Green Lanes (the A105 road ...

, in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. In 1929, as William was working on the founding of the

Northcliffe Newspapers Group Northcliffe Media Ltd. (formerly Northcliffe Newspapers Group) was a large regional newspaper publisher in the UK and Central and Eastern Europe, owned by Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT). In 2012, the company was sold by DMGT to a newly forme ...

chain of provincial newspapers, the family moved to Aberfoyle, in Broad Walk, Winchmore Hill.Ayrshire Notes – Norris McWhirter
Ref used to confirm only that "Aberfoyle" is house name in Winchmore Hill, rather than town name in Scotland or Ireland Ross McWhirter was educated at Chesterton School, Seaford,

Marlborough College ( 1 Corinthians 3:6: God gives the increase) , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = Nicholas Holtam , head_label = Master , head = Louis ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. Between 1943 and 1946, Ross served as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

with the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

aboard a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

in the Mediterranean.Norris McWhirter – A Short Biography
/ref> McWhirter maintained his home and Guinness Publishing business in the Middlesex area as it became the Municipal Borough of Edmonton, then

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

, and finally as part of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

in 1965.

Career

Ross and Norris both became sports journalists in 1950. In 1951, they published ''Get to Your Marks'', and earlier that year they had founded an agency to provide facts and figures to

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

, endeavouring "to supply facts and figures to newspapers, yearbooks, encyclopaedias and advertisers." While building their business, they both worked as sports journalists. They knew and covered runner

Christopher Chataway Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician. Education He was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Denys ...

, a

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...

employee who recommended them to Hugh Beaver. After an interview in 1954 in which the Guinness directors enjoyed testing the twins' knowledge of records and unusual facts, the brothers agreed to start work on the book that would become ''

The Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

''. In August 1955, the first slim green volume, 198 pages long, appeared at bookstalls, and within four more months it had become the UK's number one nonfiction bestseller. Both brothers were regulars on the BBC show ''

''. They were noted for their encyclopedic memories, enabling them to provide detailed answers to questions from the audience about entries in ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Norris continued to appear on the programme after Ross's death. In 1958, long after the legend of William Webb Ellis as the originator of rugby had become engrained in rugby culture, Ross managed to rediscover Ellis's grave in a cemetery in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

in Alpes Maritimes (it has since been renovated by the French Rugby Federation). In 1965, Ross and Norris were guests on the American panel game show ''

I've Got a Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Li ...

'', where they exhibited their memorisation of the ''Guinness Book of Records''.

Politics

In the early 1960s, McWhirter was a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

activist and unsuccessfully sought the seat of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

in the 1964 general election. Following his killing, his brother and others founded the National Association for Freedom (later

the Freedom Association The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group, which has links to the Conservative Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in ...

). His views have been described as "right-wing".

Controversy

Ireland

McWhirter advocated and lobbied for various restrictions on the freedom of the Irish community in Britain, such as compulsory registration with the local police and a requirement for signed photographs when renting flats or booking hotel rooms.
The Road To Balcombe Street: The IRA Reign of Terror in London
' by Steven Moysey (), pages 116 to 117 In 1975, McWhirter offered a £50,000 reward () for information leading to a conviction for several recent high-profile bombings in England that were publicly claimed by the

(IRA). In doing so, McWhirter recognised that he could then be a target himself. This was described as a bounty by McWhirter, and considered a bounty by the IRA Army Council, a view that led directly to the events that followed. However, the idea was not originally his but that of John Gouriet.

Capital punishment

McWhirter advocated capital punishment for terrorism offences. During a press conference on 4 November 1975, he proposed that terrorism be classified as treason and as a result carry the death penalty.

Alleged links to British intelligence

In his 1981 book, former counterterrorism operative Gordon Winter of the South African

Bureau of State Security The Bureau for State Security ( af, Buro vir Staatsveiligheid; also known as the Bureau of State Security (BOSS)) was the main South African state intelligence agency from 1969 to 1980. A high-budget and secretive institution, it reported directly ...

recalled a briefing with his London-based handler Alf Bouwer warning him to be wary of McWhirter, who he claimed was a British intelligence operative and member of the right-wing, anti-immigration

Society for Individual Freedom The Society for Individual Freedom (SIF) is a United Kingdom-based association of libertarians, classical liberals, free-market conservatives and others promoting individual freedom. It has links to the British intelligence community. Earl ...

, which he described as a "front" for "disseminating Establishment-type propaganda."

Assassination

On 27 November 1975 at 6:45 p.m., McWhirter was shot and killed by

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish re ...

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

Harry Duggan and Hugh Doherty, members of the

Active Service Unit An active service unit (ASU; ) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) cell of four to ten members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002, the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were in active service units. T ...

(ASU), later dubbed the Balcombe Street Gang, for which McWhirter had offered a reward for its capture. McWhirter was shot at close range in the head and chest with a

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

revolver outside his home in Village Road,

Bush Hill Park Bush Hill Park is an area of Enfield, located to the south-east of Enfield Town, on the outskirts of north London, and historically in Middlesex. Much of the district is a planned suburban estate, developed mainly in the late-19th and early-20t ...

. He was taken to Chase Farm Hospital but died soon after being admitted. Duggan and Doherty were apprehended following the

Balcombe Street siege The Balcombe Street siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and London's Metropolitan Police lasting from 6 to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA members and the r ...

and charged with murdering McWhirter in addition to nine other victims. They were sentenced to life imprisonment but released in 1999 under the terms of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

Selected bibliography

Sports and general encyclopædia * ''Get to Your Marks'' (1951, with Norris McWhirter) * ''The Guinness Book of Records'' (1955–1975, with Norris McWhirter) * ''Ross: The Story of a Shared Life'' (Norris McWhirter) , * ''Ross Was Right – The McWhirter File ''(Covenant Pub., 29 September 2014) ,

References

External links

TV presenter Ross McWhirter shot dead
@

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

, ''On This Day'', 27 November 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcwhirter, Ross 1925 births 1970s murders in London 1975 deaths 1975 murders in the United Kingdom 20th-century British journalists Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Anti-Irish sentiment Assassinated British journalists British identical twins Burials at New Southgate Cemetery Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Deaths by firearm in London English male journalists English people of Scottish descent English terrorism victims People educated at Marlborough College People from Enfield, London People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army People murdered in England People murdered in London Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Rugby union journalists English twins