Suffragette to railings, smashed windows, set fire to postboxes and empty buildings, set bombs in order to damage churches and property, and faced anger and ridicule in the media. When imprisoned they went on hunger strike, to which the government responded by force-feeding them. The death of one suffragette, Emily Davison, when she ran in front of the king's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby, made headlines around the world. The WSPU campaign had varying levels of support from within the suffragette movement; breakaway groups formed, and within the WSPU itself not all members supported the direct action. The suffragette campaign
Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse located in Epsom, Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 130,000 when taking into account people watching from the Epsom Downs, an area freely available to the public, is best known for hosting the Derby Stakes which has come to be widely referred to as The Derby (note, 'Epsom' is not part of the title of the race), the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old