William Mycroft is a suggestion that Arthur Conan Doyle derived the name of Mycroft the older brother of Sherlock Holmes from William Mycroft. Conan Doyle was a first-class cricketer who later played for MCC and had a respect for fast bowlers. Mycroft played his last first-class match for MCC in 1886. He umpired four first-class matches before his retirement and later umpired two more during the 1891 season. He died of influenza at the age of 53 in Derby. Mycroft's half-brother, Thomas, played for Derbyshire between 1877 and 1885. William Mycroft William Mycroft (1 February 1841 – 19 June 1894) was an
Brain of Britain a pseudonym, to adjudicate when an answer was imprecise. For many years Ian Gillies fulfilled the role, taking the name "Mycroft" (from Mycroft Holmes, older and wiser brother of Sherlock). After his death in April 2002, the new question setter was Kevin Ashman, who has the distinction of winning both "Brain of Britain" and "Mastermind". He chose to be known as "Jorkins", a character in Dickens' "David Copperfield". From the 2007 series a team of setters was engaged, as is the practice in most other quiz shows. For much of its life the theme music of "Brain of Britain" was