 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ross McWhirter" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ross McWhirter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alan Ross McWhirter (1925-08-12)12 August 1925 Winchmore Hill,Middlesex, England |
| Died | 27 November 1975(1975-11-27) (aged 50) Enfield, London, England |
| Cause of death | Gunshot |
| Education | Marlborough College Trinity College, Oxford |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable credit(s) | The Guinness Book of Records,Record Breakers |
| Spouse | Rosemary J. Hamilton-Grice[1][2] |
| Relatives | Norris McWhirter (twin brother) |
Alan Ross McWhirter (12 August 1925 – 27 November 1975) was, with histwin brother,Norris, the cofounder of the 1955Guinness Book of Records (known since 2000 asGuinness World Records) and a contributor to the television programmeRecord Breakers. He wasassassinated by theProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1975.[2]
McWhirter was the youngest son of William McWhirter, editor of theSunday Pictorial, and Margaret "Bunty" Williamson. He was born at 10 Branscombe Gardens,Winchmore Hill, inLondon. In 1929, as William was working on the founding of theNorthcliffe Newspapers Group chain of provincial newspapers, the family moved to Aberfoyle, in Broad Walk, Winchmore Hill.[3] Ross McWhirter was educated at Chesterton School, Seaford,Marlborough College andTrinity College, Oxford.
Between 1943 and 1946, Ross served as asub-lieutenant with theRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserve aboard aminesweeper in the Mediterranean.[4] McWhirter maintained his home and Guinness Publishing business in the Middlesex area as it became theMunicipal Borough of Edmonton, thenLondon Borough of Enfield, and finally as part ofGreater London in 1965.
Ross and Norris both became sports journalists in 1950. In 1951, they publishedGet to Your Marks, and earlier that year they had founded an agency to provide facts and figures toFleet Street, 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 runnerChristopher Chataway, aGuinness employee who recommended them toHugh 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 becomeThe Guinness Book of Records. 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.[5] Both brothers were regulars on theBBC showRecord Breakers. They were noted for their encyclopedic memories, enabling them to provide detailed answers to questions from the audience about entries inThe Guinness Book of Records. Norris continued to appear on the programme after Ross's death.[6]
In 1958, long after the legend ofWilliam Webb Ellis as the originator of rugby had become engrained in rugby culture, Ross managed to rediscover Ellis's grave in a cemetery inMenton inAlpes Maritimes (it has since been renovated by theFrench Rugby Federation).
In 1965, Ross and Norris were guests on the American panel game showI've Got a Secret, where they exhibited their memorisation of theGuinness Book of Records.[7]
In the early 1960s, McWhirter was aConservative Party activist and unsuccessfully fought the seat ofEdmonton in the1964 general election. Following his killing, his brother and others founded the National Association for Freedom (laterthe Freedom Association).
His views were on the right wing of the political spectrum.[8]
McWhirter advocated and lobbied[7] for various restrictions on the freedom of theIrish community in Britain, such as compulsory registration with the local police and a requirement for signed photographs when renting flats or booking hotel rooms.[9][8] In 1975, McWhirter offered a £50,000 reward (equivalent to £530,000 in 2023) for information leading to a conviction for several recent high-profile bombings in England that were publicly claimed by theProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). In doing so, McWhirter recognised that he could then be a target.[9] This was described as a bounty by McWhirter, and considered a bounty by theIRA Army Council, a view that led directly to the events that followed. The idea was not originally his but that ofJohn Gouriet.[10]
McWhirter advocated forcapital punishment for terrorism offences. During a press conference on 4 November 1975, he proposed that terrorism be classified astreason and as a result carry the death penalty.[11]
In his 1981 book, former counterterrorism operative Gordon Winter of theSouth AfricanBureau of State Security 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-immigrationSociety for Individual Freedom, which he described as a "front" for "disseminating Establishment-type propaganda."[12]
On 27 November 1975 at 6:45 p.m., McWhirter was shot and killed byProvisional IRAVolunteers Harry Duggan andHugh Doherty, members of the IRAactive service unit that was later dubbed theBalcombe Street Gang,[13] for whose capture McWhirter had offered a reward. McWhirter was shot at close range in the head and chest with a.357 Magnum revolver outside his home in Village Road,Bush Hill Park.[14] He was taken toChase Farm Hospital but died soon after being admitted. Duggan and Doherty were apprehended following theBalcombe Street siege and charged with murdering McWhirter in addition to nine other victims.[13] They were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977 but released in 1999 under the terms of theGood Friday Agreement.[15]
Sports and general encyclopædia
