to receive his VC from King George V. The same day, McCann received the Military Cross for his own actions at Pozières that immediately preceded those of Blackburn. Blackburn embarked at Southampton for Australia aboard the hospital ship Karoola on 16 October for six months' rest, arriving home via Melbourne on 3 December. The train he arrived on was met by the state premier, Crawford Vaughan, but he declined to speak to the assembled crowd about his exploits. The following day he was fêted by the staff and students of St Peter's College. He married Rose Ada Kelly at the St Peter's College chapel on 22 March 1917; they had two sons and two daughters. Their sons were Richard and Robert; Richard also became a lawyer and eventually became an eminent jurist, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and chancellor of the Australian National University. His daughter Margaret married Jim Forbes, who became a long-serving federal government minister, and his other daughter Rosemary became a literary editor, author, and adviser to the South Australian government on women's affairs. Blackburn was discharged from the AIF on medical grounds on 10 April 1917, as he was classified as too ill to return to the fighting. He was awarded an invalid soldier's pension. In addition to his VC, Blackburn also received the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service in World War I. His brothers Harry and John also served in the AIF during the war. Between the wars Blackburn returned to legal practice in early 1917, becoming a principal lawyer for the firm of Fenn and Hardy. In May 1917, Blackburn was elected as one of five vice-presidents of the Returned Soldiers' Association (RSA) in South Australia, which was led by the first commanding officer of the 10th Battalion, Weir. On 12 September, Blackburn was elected state president of the RSA. He was involved in the 1917 Australian conscription referendum campaign, advocating in favour of conscription. As RSA president, he was involved in advocating for returned soldiers, and navigated a contentious period in the organisation's history. He also led the fundraising for a soldiers' memorial to be built in Adelaide. In January 1918, he was re-elected unopposed as president. Despite his push for the RSA to remain independent of politics, in early April 1918, Blackburn successfully contested the three-member South Australian House of