As a student in occupied Holland he listened to black market jazz records - banned by the Germans as "decadent" - every day, using "illegal" equipment centered around a radio glued under a bookshelf which he used as an amplifier.
He was among a lorry load of prisoners condemned to death when he escaped by leaping over the side, running across a minefield, and hiding in a wood.
[1] His second tenure with the group was short-lived as he left the band in 1948 and relocated to England with his fiancé Leona to join his father as co-director of a fruit preserving business on the Kent coast.
Steenhuis' music was relegated to the position of a hobby until, encouraged by his wife, he sent some of his recordings to the BBC where they caught the interest of a radio producer, which led to him making his debut broadcast in 'Guitar Club'.
On later albums however, due to the expansion of orchestration, it became a lengthy and laborious job to play all the instruments himself so The Kontikis were made up of session musicians including Herbie Flowers / Tony Campo (bass), Alan Parker / Dick Abel (guitar) and Clem Cattini / Barry Morgan (drums) with Wout playing the main melody parts himself.