During the time I went through the RW course we flew with staff crewmen only.
I forgot you are a little older than me.
I went through 2 Sqn in 1983 and our course was half pilots and half loadies - it has stayed that way ever since. You probably would have seen that when you did your QHI course.
The other advantage of using a Wessex was that several front-line Sqns had them so a long OCU post wings wasn't required.