Hi Ken, + Graham.
This failure to publish has annoyed me for about 25 years! We have to be clear though - are we referring to daily or monthly data?
Daily - do some climat stations still only report to MO at the end of the month? I think this delayed the reporting of the Faversham max temp in 2003 but maybe they all report electronically at 09h. The Aussie BoM website is an example here.
Monthly data - this is the important one IMO as we really know nothing, as you say, of the non-automated climat sites, such as yours and many others. The MO should publish this data - it should be in the public realm. After the MWR ceased in 1993, they published annual datasheets for the next 3 years didn't they (I guess you received them, Ken) and these are in the MO archive section of their website - this was basically the main table of the MWR.
https://digital.nmla.metoffice.gov.uk/SO_257ec2c7-3c7a-4c0f-8fcc-00aafc3c57c4/
They should publish this data monthly and annually - preferably backdating to 1996 (we can only wish). I say something along these lines in a future issue of Weather, though you'd have to look very closely to see it. Why don't we involve the History Group and Met Observing Systems Group of the RMetS? Maybe a Viewpoint article in Weather?
Julian