He remained in France until the withdrawal of the army of occupation in 1818, and after serving as aide-de-camp to Major General Sir Colquhoun Grant, commanding at Dublin from 1821 to 1823, he was promoted major into the 75th Regiment of Foot on 4 September 1823, and on 29 October 1825 took command of the regiment with the rank of lieutenant colonel, in the place of the Duke of Cleveland. He kept this commanded for many years and led the regiment to the Cape in 1833. On the outbreak of the Kaffir War in 1836, Lieutenant General Sir Galbraith Cole, who was then in command at the Cape, chose Colonel England to command the eastern frontier with the temporary rank of brigadier general, and he served throughout the campaigns of 1836 and 1837 in this rank. For his services he received a medal, and on 28 June 1838 was promoted full colonel.