This is the privacy policy of the Wilmslow Historical Society. It covers the information we hold about our members and what happens when you visit our website, wilmslowhistsoc.org. If you have any questions, or a concern about how we handle your information, please email us at wilmslowhistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
Membership records
When you join or renew, we keep the following details:
- your name, postal address, email address and telephone number
- your type of membership and when you joined
- a record of your subscription payments: the date, the amount, and whether you paid by bank transfer, PayPal [or cash/cheque]
We use these details to run the Society: to keep the membership list, to send you meeting programmes and Society news, to collect subscriptions and to keep our accounts. We do this because it is necessary for your membership and in the Society’s legitimate interests as a members’ organisation. We keep financial records because the law requires it.
[If you claim Gift Aid: If you have signed a Gift Aid declaration, we keep it and share the necessary details with HM Revenue & Customs.]
Payments
If you pay by bank transfer, our bank statement shows your name and the reference you gave. If you pay through PayPal, PayPal handles the payment and tells us your name, your email address and the amount. We never see or keep your card details or your bank account number. PayPal and our bank have their own privacy policies.
Who sees your information
Only the committee members who need your details to carry out their roles can see them, usually the Membership Secretary and the Treasurer. Our records are kept [in a password-protected spreadsheet / on the officers’ own computers], and we use Gmail for Society email. We do not sell your details, and we do not pass them to anyone else for their own use.
How long we keep it
We keep your membership details while you are a member. If your membership lapses, we delete them within [twelve months] unless you rejoin. Financial records, including records of subscriptions, are kept for six years and then destroyed.
Visitor statistics
The website counts visits with a WordPress plugin called Koko Analytics, so we can see which pages are read and roughly how many people visit. It uses no cookies, records only overall totals, and stores nothing that could identify you. The figures stay on the website’s own server.
Pictures, links and embedded content
Author pictures are supplied by Gravatar, a service run by Automattic. When a page shows one, your browser connects to Gravatar, which can see your IP address. Some articles include videos or other material embedded from other websites, and some link to other sites. Those sites may collect information about you and set their own cookies, just as they would if you visited them directly. Their own privacy policies apply.
Hosting
The website runs on a hosting company’s servers. Like all hosts, it keeps routine technical logs, including IP addresses, for security and maintenance.
Your rights
You can ask to see the information we hold about you, have it corrected, or have it deleted when we no longer need to keep it. Email us at wilmslowhistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first, using the same address. We will acknowledge your complaint and look into it promptly. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Last updated: November 2026