On 12 August 1924, he participated in his first job as chief executioner when he hanged Frenchman Jean-Pierre Vaquier.
They each received jobs on a regional basis, and Baxter was responsible for nearly every execution carried out in London.
[4] He and Pierrepoint soon became rivals, and they then started writing to under-sheriffs to request specific jobs, even though that was not allowed.
Working at his customary quick pace, Baxter failed to notice that his new assistant, Alfred Allen, had not cleared the trapdoor after strapping the prisoner's legs.
He carried out his last hanging on 30 October 1935 before finally being removed from the official Home Office list.