It was the trip he had longed to make, but one he hoped he would never have to. 

Yesterday, Richard Selley arrived at a nondescript wood-panelled building far away from Scotland, went inside, and took his own life. 

Suffering from the late stages of motor neurone disease (MND), the 65-year-old had decided his only way out was to seek assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Pfaffikon, near Zurich, in Switzerland.

He had wanted to die at home in Perth, where he had built a life with his wife Elaine until he became terminally ill.

But assisted dying remains illegal in his home country, even for those with no hope left. 

Mr Selley, the former headteacher of Loretto junior school in East Lothian, had asked for the law to be changed. His plea fell on deaf ears. 

So he travelled to Europe while he was still able to fly, though he wanted to live longer. He was afraid his condition would worsen and leave him trapped.

Once there, talked with the clinical staff he had been corresponding with for months, who said it was not too late to reconsider. 

But his mind was made up, and at lunchtime in a clinically clean room, well appointed but devoid of any personal touches, he took the dose of sodium pentobarbital prescribed by a doctor, and died. 

His brother Peter and Mrs Selley were by his side. “The end was dignified and calm, exactly as Richard wanted,” she later wrote. “He had taken control of his own destiny.” 

In his last public testament, Mr Selley pleaded with the powers-that-be to help those who will come after him, instead of forcing them to follow the same path. 

In a video message before his planned death yesterday, he said: “I hope that members of the Scottish Parliament support an assisted dying bill in the future.

“I think the momentum for a change in the law is growing. It will be too late for me but I hope that sometime soon people in my position will have the choice to have a peaceful death at a time of their choosing.”

MND is a disease without mercy. Difficult to diagnose, incurable and fatal, it progressively strips away the signals which travel from the brain to limbs and organs, robbing them of the power to move. 

Mr Selley, who received his diagnosis in 2015, said: “I have lost the ability to walk, talk and swallow. I have also lost most of the power in my arms.

“Despite these losses I have tried very hard to remain positive and my palliative care has been outstanding. However, as I enter the final stage of my journey, I don’t wish to suffer for much longer so I am seeking an assisted death with Dignitas.

“Despite what some people think, Dignitas do not let people simply fly to Zurich, knock on their door and ask to die.

“I have already had to compose letters, write a life story and obtain medical records that prove that I am terminally ill.

“This has been stressful, particularly as my GP was advised to refuse my request for an up-to-date medical report.”  

Mr Selley said the cost of attending the clinic was about £10,000 which he is “fortunate” he can afford, as others cannot.

“Having to be able to fly means that I am choosing to die earlier than I would prefer,” he added.

“If an assisted death was possible in Scotland, I would be able to die at a time of my choosing, at home.” 

In the days running up to his departure, Mr Selley and Mrs Selley – who married in 2011 and have five children between them – watched boxed sets of DVDs, with Poldark a favourite.

Mrs Selley said it was “surreal” to reach the end of each DVD and tick it off the list, knowing what they were counting down to. 

Now, she says she will carry on her husband’s fight to have assisted dying legalised in Scotland, writing on his blog, Moments with MND: “I am acutely aware of the enormity of my personal loss and heartache.

“However, I knew without a doubt that I was loved, and true love never dies. 

“Richard gave me the confidence to flourish as a person at home and professionally. Like many of you, I was inspired by Richard. He taught me well, and he would be furious to think that I would throw in the towel after his death.  

“I will continue to fight for the human right of those who are terminally ill to choose how and when they die in Scotland.” 

She added: “The experience of travelling to Switzerland will never leave me. It was traumatic. No one should ever need to make that journey from a supposedly humane and compassionate country like Scotland.

“Richard will always be with me no matter what new memories I create in the future. His influence and unconditional love live on. I see myself as lucky to have shared my life with this incredible man. I will cherish our journey together. 

“His laughing blue eyes will continue to twinkle in my mind, reminding me that there is joy to be had in the world somewhere. The end must be a new beginning.”