Privacy Policy
About Your Privacy
The Howard Staunton Society
86 Clapham Common North Side, London SW4 9SE
Telephone: +44 7903 346 208 · Email: info@stauntonsociety.com
Last updated: 9th November 2026.
1. Who we are
The Howard Staunton Society ("the Society", "we", "us") is a chess education and heritage society, currently applying for registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity registration pending). The Society is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. This means we decide how and why your information is used, and we are responsible for looking after it. Our Data Protection Lead is the Chair of the Society. You can contact us about anything in this notice at info@stauntonsociety.com or at the address above.
2. The information we collect
We collect only the information we need. If you become a member: your name, postal and email address, telephone number (optional), membership category, the dates and amounts of your subscriptions, and, for the Pawn category, proof that you are a student. If you make a donation: your name and contact details, the amount and date of your gift, and, where you choose to make one, your Gift Aid declaration (including your home address, as HMRC requires). If you book a place at an event: your name and contact details, the number of places booked, and any dietary or accessibility requirements you choose to tell us about. If you subscribe to or comment on Gambit: your name and email address, and the content of any comment you post. If you contact us: your name, contact details and whatever you tell us in your message. When you visit our website: technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, collected through cookies and similar technologies (see section 9). We do not knowingly collect information from children. Membership of the Society is open to people aged 18 and over. Children may attend public lectures and exhibitions with a parent or guardian, who makes any booking on their behalf. We do not ask for sensitive information (such as health details), except where you choose to tell us about a dietary or accessibility need so that we can meet it. We use that information only for that purpose. Payment details: card payments are taken by our payment provider, Square. We do not see or store your full card details.
3. How we use your information, and our legal basis
What we use it forLegal basis under UK GDPRRunning your membership: admitting you, collecting subscriptions, sending notices of general meetings, and keeping the register of members the law requiresContract, and legal obligationSending you Gambit, news and invitations to our events and lectures, if you are a memberLegitimate interests (keeping members informed about the Society they belong to)Sending you news and fundraising messages by email, if you are not a memberConsentProcessing donations and claiming Gift AidLegal obligation (Gift Aid records), and legitimate interestsManaging event bookings and meeting dietary or accessibility needsContract, and, for any health-related information, your explicit consentPublishing Gambit comments, and moderating themLegitimate interestsAnswering your enquiries and handling complaintsLegitimate interestsKeeping our website secure and working properlyLegitimate interestsMeeting our obligations as a charity, including reporting to the Charity Commission and HMRCLegal obligation
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against your rights and are satisfied that the use is fair and expected. You can object at any time (see section 7). Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, for example by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us. We never sell, rent or trade your personal information.
4. Who we share it with
We share your information only where we need to, and only with:
5. Transfers outside the UK
Some of our service providers may store or process information outside the United Kingdom. Where they do, we make sure the transfer is protected, for example by an adequacy decision of the UK Government or by approved contract terms.
6. How long we keep it
InformationHow long we keep itMembership records6 years after your membership endsDonation and Gift Aid records6 years after the end of the financial year of the giftEvent bookings3 yearsEnquiries and emailsup to 2 years, unless needed for longerComplaints6 years after the complaint is closedGambit subscriptionsuntil you unsubscribeGambit commentsfor as long as the article is published, unless you ask us to remove them
After these periods, we delete or securely destroy the information.
7. Your rights
Under data protection law you have the right to:
8. Keeping your information secure
We protect your information with password-protected and access-controlled systems, secure payment and hosting providers, encryption where possible, and regular backups. Only people who need your information for the Society's work can see it. If a data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours, and tell you if it is likely to affect you seriously.
9. Cookies
Our website uses cookies, small files stored on your device, to make the site work and to understand how it is used.
10. Links to other websites
Our website links to other sites, such as our social media pages and partner venues. We are not responsible for how those sites handle your information, so please read their privacy notices.
11. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first at info@stauntonsociety.com, and we will do our best to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection:
12. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.
1. Who we are
The Howard Staunton Society ("the Society", "we", "us") is a chess education and heritage society, currently applying for registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity registration pending). The Society is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. This means we decide how and why your information is used, and we are responsible for looking after it. Our Data Protection Lead is the Chair of the Society. You can contact us about anything in this notice at info@stauntonsociety.com or at the address above.
2. The information we collect
We collect only the information we need. If you become a member: your name, postal and email address, telephone number (optional), membership category, the dates and amounts of your subscriptions, and, for the Pawn category, proof that you are a student. If you make a donation: your name and contact details, the amount and date of your gift, and, where you choose to make one, your Gift Aid declaration (including your home address, as HMRC requires). If you book a place at an event: your name and contact details, the number of places booked, and any dietary or accessibility requirements you choose to tell us about. If you subscribe to or comment on Gambit: your name and email address, and the content of any comment you post. If you contact us: your name, contact details and whatever you tell us in your message. When you visit our website: technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, collected through cookies and similar technologies (see section 9). We do not knowingly collect information from children. Membership of the Society is open to people aged 18 and over. Children may attend public lectures and exhibitions with a parent or guardian, who makes any booking on their behalf. We do not ask for sensitive information (such as health details), except where you choose to tell us about a dietary or accessibility need so that we can meet it. We use that information only for that purpose. Payment details: card payments are taken by our payment provider, Square. We do not see or store your full card details.
3. How we use your information, and our legal basis
What we use it forLegal basis under UK GDPRRunning your membership: admitting you, collecting subscriptions, sending notices of general meetings, and keeping the register of members the law requiresContract, and legal obligationSending you Gambit, news and invitations to our events and lectures, if you are a memberLegitimate interests (keeping members informed about the Society they belong to)Sending you news and fundraising messages by email, if you are not a memberConsentProcessing donations and claiming Gift AidLegal obligation (Gift Aid records), and legitimate interestsManaging event bookings and meeting dietary or accessibility needsContract, and, for any health-related information, your explicit consentPublishing Gambit comments, and moderating themLegitimate interestsAnswering your enquiries and handling complaintsLegitimate interestsKeeping our website secure and working properlyLegitimate interestsMeeting our obligations as a charity, including reporting to the Charity Commission and HMRCLegal obligation
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against your rights and are satisfied that the use is fair and expected. You can object at any time (see section 7). Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, for example by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us. We never sell, rent or trade your personal information.
4. Who we share it with
We share your information only where we need to, and only with:
- service providers who act on our behalf, under written terms that require them to keep it secure and use it only on our instructions:
- Square, for payments;
- Kopage, which hosts our main website;
- the host of Gambit, our online publication;
- our email provider [name of email/newsletter provider];
- HMRC, for Gift Aid claims;
- our bank and our independent examiner or accountant, where needed for our accounts;
- the Charity Commission, the police or other authorities, where the law requires it.
5. Transfers outside the UK
Some of our service providers may store or process information outside the United Kingdom. Where they do, we make sure the transfer is protected, for example by an adequacy decision of the UK Government or by approved contract terms.
6. How long we keep it
InformationHow long we keep itMembership records6 years after your membership endsDonation and Gift Aid records6 years after the end of the financial year of the giftEvent bookings3 yearsEnquiries and emailsup to 2 years, unless needed for longerComplaints6 years after the complaint is closedGambit subscriptionsuntil you unsubscribeGambit commentsfor as long as the article is published, unless you ask us to remove them
After these periods, we delete or securely destroy the information.
7. Your rights
Under data protection law you have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete your information;
- ask us to restrict how we use it;
- object to our using it, including for any direct marketing, which we will then stop;
- ask us to transfer it to you or another organisation; and
- withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.
8. Keeping your information secure
We protect your information with password-protected and access-controlled systems, secure payment and hosting providers, encryption where possible, and regular backups. Only people who need your information for the Society's work can see it. If a data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours, and tell you if it is likely to affect you seriously.
9. Cookies
Our website uses cookies, small files stored on your device, to make the site work and to understand how it is used.
- Essential cookies keep the website working and secure. They do not need your consent.
- Analytics and external content (for example embedded videos or maps) may set cookies of their own. We use these only with your agreement, which you can give or withhold through the cookie banner.
10. Links to other websites
Our website links to other sites, such as our social media pages and partner venues. We are not responsible for how those sites handle your information, so please read their privacy notices.
11. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first at info@stauntonsociety.com, and we will do our best to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection:
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
12. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.