To hundreds he was known simply as “Monkey”, at the vanguard of the Capital’s army of street drinkers, by turn amusing, annoying, frightening and, often as not, pitiful. 

A familiar face on city centre streets, Monkey was well known as much of a nuisance to authorities as to passers by, with a rap sheet of no less than 186 breaches of the peace against his name.

But now, as the man once thought too much of a handful for even the toughest of hostels is set to be buried tomorrow, the charity which gave him a roof over his head and a sense of purpose in his latter years, has asked that the story of the man behind the nickname, and the experiences that shaped him, be told. David Kelbie was born in 1948 in Arbroath, one of no less than 11 children to Daniel and Elizabeth Kelbie. The Kelbie clan were of a travelling background and moved around various parts of Scotland. Davie spent most of his childhood in the care of Aberlour Orphanage, with three of his siblings. At its peak, the orphanage was one of the largest establishments in Scotland with about 600 children living there. Long defunct, it is now the focus of allegations of historic child sexual abuse. [ . . . ]

Continue at Edinburgh New Edinburgh set to say farewell to local character David ‘Monkey’ Kelbie – Edinburgh Evening News