BSc MB ChB Manch 1930; MRCS Eng LRCP Lond 1930; FRCS Eng 1936.
After studying at the University of Manchester, Birkett was demonstrator in anatomy at the University of Manchester and house surgeon at MRI. He later became orthopaedic and accident surgeon at Nottingham Children's Hospital and Nottingham City Hospital. Birkett was a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the British Orthopaedic Association.