[DaveBrigg]

Peter, this must be the right aircraft. What are the chances of two identical incidents exactly a year apart? I wasn't aware of the crash at Howsham, but this hamlet is smaller than South Kelsey and 5 miles away, so not an obvious point of reference. Children from Howsham attend my son's school, so he will include this incident in the project.

However, if our Home Guard friend got the year wrong, he may be correct about the date. A search for the 31st October 1943 shows 10 RAF casualties, only one of whom is buried in the UK - Aircraftman 2nd Class Vernon Cocker. This day was also a Sunday. The 30th was a Saturday, which matches the story we were told, and shows 6 RAF casualties buried in the UK. Two are aircraftmen, who I'm guessing did not normally fly, and one is a Flight Sergeant from 62 Squadron (based in the Far East at the time). The other three were:
Sergeant F E Carr
Flying Officer (Pilot) K J Nixon
Sergeant (Nav) S A Benito
Benito is buried in Merthyr Tydfil, which partially fits with the comment that 'they were Welsh'
The year must be correct, and I'm inclined to believe that the 30th was the correct date. Our friend matched the correct day of the week, and at the weekend would have been at home, which was less than a hundred yards from the crash site. He helped to recover the bodies, presumably before staff from the nearest RAF base arrived.
However, I'm wary taking for granted things which seem to fit so neatly. The Oxford could have a crew of three, but what if there was just a pilot and navigator that day? What if a member of the ground crew was taken up for the ride? I have found little online about 15 PAFU, except that it was based at Greenham Common until September 1943.
Later this year it will be the 65th anniversary of the crash, and it would be nice to commemorate the men who died in the village. There is a lot of interest in local history, so I'm sure this story deserves a wider audience. I'm new to this area of research, and would value opinions as to how conclusive the evidence is, and whether there is any way of confirming the names beyond reasonable doubt.
Thanks again for everyone's input. It has made me realise that in a few years time there will be no-one in this area who remembers the war, and without these eyewitness accounts some of the details will be lost forever.