GAZETTE & HERALD: FAMILY and friends paid tribute to Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, at a private funeral this week.

The location and date of the funeral were kept secret because of security fears.

Mr McWhirter's twin brother Ross was assassinated outside his Middlesex home in 1975 by the IRA. This followed his offer of a £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of IRA bombers.

It is believed that at the time of his death, his brother Norris McWhirter was also on the IRA hit list.

Mr McWhirter, 78, suffered a heart attack whilst playing tennis at his Kington Langley home on April 19.

He was best known for setting up the Guinness Book of Records with his brother, but he was also an international sprinter and a freelance journalist.

In the 1950s the brothers set up a facts and figures agency and in 1955 they were commissioned to produce the Guinness Book of Superlatives.

Its name was changed to the Guinness Book of Records a year later and to date it has sold more than 100 million copies.

In the 1970s Mr McWhirter became a television celebrity on Record Breakers, where he exhibited his encyclopaedic knowledge of facts.

Mr McWhirter and his brother held very outspoken views on a number of issues including Northern Ireland.

They founded the campaign group the Freedom Association, which argued strongly against Britain's involvement in the European Union.

Following his brother's death Mr McWhirter became increasingly involved in the association, which targeted trade unions, sporting bodies and broadcasting organisations.

He also wrote regularly to newspaper letter columns about Labour Party policies, the BBC and CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament).

Peter Green, who lives in Kington Langley and is a district councillor, said he had known Mr McWhirter for 20 years.

"He was always very, very pleasant. He used to take part in quite a few local events such as the Golden Jubilee weekend, when we had a party on the common. He was very supportive of the village and made donations to good causes locally.

"He will be a great loss to us locally and to a very much wider audience. He was an active man and as bright as a button.

"He was a great one for talking to people and a very amusing character. He could talk about anything and he was never boring. It was always a delight to listen to him."

Explorer David Hempleman-Adams, who has broken many world records said Mr McWhirter's death was very sad. "He was an extremely nice man. He helped me with my North Pole flight.

"He let everybody hold their own beliefs but had his own. He was very generous with his time. I don't think people realise how much he did for the community. He did it very quietly."

Mr McWhirter's family said in a statement: "Norris cared passionately about Great Britain, democracy and the rule of law and was always active in politics, but usually behind the scenes.

"The two things he attached most importance to were the freedom of the individual and the sovereignty of the United Kingdom."