Fellow ppruners, thank you for your responses above.
My recollection was that although not specifically practiced, the skill sets acquired in SH training allowed for a limited SAR capability to be deployed when the need arose - and that in the days of the Whirlwind.
Interestingly, at Tern Hill (or Ternhill if you prefer) in 1966, a requirement to plug the gap between Chivenor and Valley arose on a Friday night. The solution was to put a pair of Sycamores on the task, rather than the Whirlwind. End result was a sporty couple of hours on a misty morning groping around the Oswestry area and further west - the last SAR with a Sycamore.
Old Duffer