Ross McWhirter

Alan Ross McWhirter
Born	12 August 1925(1925-08-12) Winchmore Hill, London, England
Died	27 November 1975(1975-11-27) (aged 50) Enfield, London, England
Education	Marlborough College Trinity College, Oxford
Occupation	Writer, political activist, television presenter
Family	William McWhirter, father; Margaret Williamson, mother
Spouse(s)	Rosemary McWhirter
Notable relatives	Norris McWhirter
Notable credit(s)	Guinness Book of Records, co-founder of the National Association for Freedom, Record Breakers

Alan Ross Mayfield McWhirter (12 August 1925 – 27 November 1975), known as Ross McWhirter, was, with his twin brother, Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records and a contributor to Record Breakers. He was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Early life

McWhirter was the son of William McWhirter, editor of the Sunday Pictorial newspaper, and Margaret 'Bunty' Williamson. He was born at "Giffnock" (after Giffnock Church in Glasgow, where the McWhirters were married), 10 Branscombe Gardens, Winchmore Hill, London, N21. In 1929, as William was working on the founding of the Northcliffe Newspapers chain of provincial newspapers, the family moved to "Aberfoyle", in Broad Walk, Winchmore Hill. Like his brothers, Ross McWhirter was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Oxford. Between 1943 and 1946 Ross served with the Royal Navy on board a minesweeper in the Mediterranean.

Career

Ross and Norris both became sports journalists in 1950. In 1951, they published Get to Your Marks, and later in 1951 they founded an agency to provide facts and figures to Fleet Street, setting out, in Norris McWhirter's words: "to supply facts and figures to newspapers, yearbooks, encyclopaedias and advertisers."

While building up their accounts, they both worked as sports journalists. One of the athletes they knew and covered was runner Christopher Chataway, the employee at Guinness who recommended them to Sir 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. In August 1955, the first slim green volume - 198 pages long - was at the bookstalls, and in four more months it was the UK's number one non-fiction best-seller. Both brothers were regulars on the BBC show Record Breakers. They were noted for their photographic memory, enabling them to provide detailed answers to any questions from the audience about entries in the Guinness Book of Records. Norris continued on the programme after Ross's death.

In 1958, long after the legend of William Webb Ellis had become engrained in rugby culture, Ross McWhirter managed to rediscover his grave in "le cimetière du vieux château" at Menton in Alpes Maritimes (it has since been renovated by the French Rugby Federation).

Political activity

In the early 1960s, he was a Conservative Party activist and sought, unsuccessfully, the seat of Edmonton in the 1964 general election. In 1975, McWhirter co-founded the National Association for Freedom (now The Freedom Association). The organisation initiated legal challenges against the trade union movement in the United Kingdom, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), and the EEC in Brussels.^{[citation needed]}

Views on Ireland

McWhirter advocated restrictions on the Irish community in Britain such as making it compulsory for all Irish people in Great Britain to register with the local police and to provide signed photographs of themselves when renting flats or booking into hotels and hostels. In doing so, McWhirter recognised that he could then be a target himself. In addition, 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 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Assassination

On 27 November 1975, McWhirter was assassinated by two IRA volunteers, both of whom were members of what became known as the Balcombe Street Gang, the group for whose capture McWhirter had offered the reward. He was shot at close range in the head and chest outside his home in North London and was taken to Chase Farm Hospital, but died soon after being admitted. His killers were captured and "charged with 10 murders and 20 bombings". They were sentenced to life imprisonment but freed in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

Selected bibliography

Sports and general encyclopædia

• Get To Your Marks (1951, with Norris McWhirter)
• Guinness Book of Records (1955–1975, with Norris McWhirter)
• Ross: The Story of a Shared Life (Norris McWhirter) ISBN 0-902782-23-1

External links

• The McWhirter Foundation The McWhirter Foundation
• TV presenter Ross McWhirter shot dead @ BBC News, On This Day, 27 November 1975.