Putney Professor Left Detailed Suicide Plan

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Philip Adey wrote 160 page document to be read by family after his death

A distinguished academic from Putney who was suffering from a degenerative brain disease drew up a detailed document containing instructions for his funeral and messages for his family before killing himself.

The inquest into his death was told this week how Philip Adey, aged 73, had been suffering from a degenerative brain disease for three years and was facing the prospect of being bed-ridden. He gassed himself using helium at his Putney home this February and was found by his second wife Jadwiga along with a 160 page document entitled 'Final Exit' showing that Prof. Adey had been planning to kill himself for sometime.

He had been Emeritus Professor of Science, Cognition and Education at King's College London and had a distinguished career with a number of publications mainly on the teaching of science. Before becoming an educationalist and author he had been a chemistry teacher. It is believed that his work made a significant contribution to the advancement of teaching methods for science and other subjects in schools at GCSE level.