Little of the private life of William Bush is revealed in the Hornblower novels. A significant personal detail about Bush is that he has a mother and four sisters who live in a cottage in Chichester and depend upon Bush for their support. His sisters "devoted all their attention to him whenever it was possible," and he is as devoted to them as he gives them half of his pay. Forester does not reveal whether Bush grew up in Chichester, or at what age he left home. He was "brought up in a harsh school," an experience which taught him caution and perhaps contributed to his natural stolidity.