Superintendent Birkhill and Annie Taylor were both buried at Otley Cemetery on Saturday 26th November 1887.
Superintendent Birkhill was 57 years of age, and had been in the West Riding police force for 30 years. He joined as a constable in 1857 and was afterwards promoted to the rank of sergeant and inspector. In 1878, whilst acting as inspector at Normanton, he was appointed superintendent of the Otley division. He had previously been stationed in the Doncaster, Barnsley and Wakefield Divisions. He left a widow and one son.
Such was the esteem that Superintendent Birkhill was held in, that large numbers of people turned out for his funeral. The inhabitants of Otley lined the route to the Cemetery, shops closed, and blinds of houses on the route were firmly closed. Civic dignitaries and a large contingent of police officers from all over the West Riding attended.
The procession, headed by the Otley Band of the 2nd West Yorkshire Engineer Volunteers, proceeded from Court-house Street through Manor Square, along Boroughgate and Cross Green to the cemetery. Upon arrival at the cemetery the coffin was carried to the chapel by four sergeants and four senior constables of the Otley Division.
After the burial of Superintendent Birkhill, Annie Taylor was quietly buried with few mourners in attendance.
Superintendent Birkhill's Grave in Otley Cemetery
