In August 1902, Blackader took up his appointment as adjutant of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, where he would spend the next two years.
In the summer of 1907, he applied to become Chief Constable of Leicester - a move which would have meant leaving the Army - but did not succeed; the job went to John Hall-Dalwood, a lawyer and ex-Army officer who had made a career in the police [REF].