Suffragette suffragettes chaining themselves to railings, setting fire to post box contents, smashing windows and eventually detonating bombs. Some radical techniques used by the suffragettes were learned from Russian exiles from tsarism who had escaped to England. In 1914, at least seven churches were bombed or set on fire across the United Kingdom, including Westminster Abbey, where an explosion aimed at destroying the 700-year-old Coronation Chair, only caused minor damage. One suffragette, Emily Davison, died under the King's horse, Anmer, at The Derby on 4 June 1913. It is debated whether she was trying to pull down the horse, attach a
The Panther (horse) organisation like the National Stud. Confidence in the horse waned however, after it became known that he had been beaten in a "private" trial race at Newmarket. On his first public appearance of the year on 7 May he started at 10/1 for the 2000 Guineas over one mile at Newmarket against eleven opponents. Ridden by Richard "Dick" Cooper, he won by a neck and three quarters of a length from Buchan and Dominion. The Panther's win in the Guineas created enormous public interest and he was heavily backed for The Derby. Press reports stated that his backers stood to