There were hundreds of civilian rescues on what should have been land (!) by 705 Sqn FAA on 31st January 1953 and the days following. The 1953 floods were the event that seared the helicopter as a lifesaving device into the collective consciousness of the British people forever.
However, not a mountain rescue. What it does mean is that any subsequence rescue of a civilian either by the Fleet Air Arm or their RAF colleagues (dedicated yellow helicopters arrived on the scene just a few months later), that happened to be in mountainous terrain, wasn't quite as ground-breaking.
Maybe Ogwen Valley MRT have some info about early Valley jobs.
Last edited by jimf671; 8th May 2022 at 14:02.