You could also try contacting the Air Historical Branch (at Bentley Priory). They hold the record cards for each individual aircraft that has ever served with the RAF; the card will tell you where it was built, to which sqn(s) it was issued and its fate, plus all dates; give them the type and/or serial number and they'll look it up for you The AHB chaps have been very helpful to me in the past when tracking down aircraft records - I was able to give my ex-air gunner neighbour a copy of the card relating to 'his' Lancaster.
As for the pilot, the AHB may well have a record of who was flying it when it crashed; if not, what about trying the local newspaper? It was probably a newsworthy story in its day, and most newspapers have archives that can be researched easily. If you can get a name, you could then write to RAF PMA at Innsworth to get his service record, but IIRC, you need to be a relative for the records to be released.
Hope this helps - let us know what you discover!