Sharpend, Agree with you - an almost inevitable situation given that Wattisham is the most northerly military helicopter base in Britain...with that crown set to pass to Benson if current rumours come to pass!
The demise of the SAR Force certainly limited the options for the remaining mil RW units - some of the SAR Flts were very useful outposts of Avtur, delivered rotors-running if needed, in relatively remote areas. Boulmer had a steady stream of passing helicopters of every type, and I suspect Chiv was much the same; even somewhere like Leconfield could be useful because the other nearby mil airfields were mostly FW, and let's face it, both plankies and their ATC are terrified of helicopters!