Holding(s) in Company

Smith WH PLC
21 October 2002


                   DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS 

1)   NAME OF COMPANY

     WH SMITH PLC 

2)   NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST

     EDWARD C JOHNSON 3RD 
     PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDER OF FMR CORP. AND 
     FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED 

3)   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of 
     holding of the Shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a 
     non-beneficial interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a
     holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18

     SEE LETTER BELOW DATED 18 OCTOBER 2002 

4)   Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the 
     number of shares held by each of them. 

     SEE LETTER BELOW DATED 18 OCTOBER 2002 

5)   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired. 

     N/A

6)   (  %) of issued Class  

7)   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed

     N/A

8)   (  %) of issued Class  

9)   Class of security

     ORDINARY SHARES OF 55 5/9 PENCE EACH 

10)  Date of transaction

     N/A

11)  Date company informed

     21 OCTOBER 2002  

12)  Total holding following this notification

     32,862,890 
                
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification 

     13.15% 

14)  Any additional information 



15)  Name of contact and telephone number for queries 

     A LAM    [phone]

16)  Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for  
     making this notification     

     B C HODSON, DIRECTOR

     Date of Notification   21 OCTOBER 2002



Letter to Smith (WH) Plc - Dated October 18, 2002  

Amendment # 16

NOTIFICATIONS UNDER SECTIONS 198 TO 202 -- U.K. COMPANIES ACT 

1. Company in which shares are held:   Smith (WH) Plc 

2. Notifiable Interest:   Ordinary Shares

     (A)   FMR Corp.
           82 Devonshire Street 
           Boston, MA 02109 

           Parent holding company of Fidelity Management & Research Company 
           (FMRCO), investment manager for US mutual funds, and Fidelity  
           Management Trust Company (FMTC), a US state chartered bank which 
           acts as a trustee or investment manager of various pension and trust 
           accounts. (See Schedule A for listing of Registered Shareholders 
           and their holdings). 

     (B)   Fidelity International Limited (FIL) 
           P.O. Box HM 670
           Hamilton HMCX, Bermuda 

           Parent holding company for various direct and indirect subsidiaries, 
           including Fidelity Investment Services Ltd. (FISL) and Fidelity  
           Pension Management (FPM), investment managers for various non-US 
           investment companies and institutional clients. (See Schedule A for  
           listing of Registered Shareholders and their holdings).

3. The notifiable interests also comprise the notifiable interest of: 

           Mr. Edward C. Johnson 3d 
           82 Devonshire Street 
           Boston, MA 02109 

           Principal shareholder of FMR Corp. and Fidelity International  
           Limited. 

4. The notifiable interests include interest held on behalf of authorized unit  
   trust schemes in the U.K., notwithstanding the exemption from reporting  
   pursuant to Section 209(1)(h) of the Companies Act 1985. 

5. These notifications of disclosable interests constitute separate 
   notifications of interest in the shares and are combined solely for the  
   purposes of clarity. Nothing herein should be taken to indicate that FMR 
   Corp. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, Fidelity International 
   Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries or Mr. Edward C. Johnson  
   3d act as a group or in concert in respect of the disclosed interests, or  
   that they are required to submit these notifications on a joint basis. 

6. The disclosable interests arise under section 208(4)(b) of the Act, namely 
   where a person, not being the registered holder, is entitled to exercise a 
   right conferred by the holding of the shares or to control the exercise of 
   such rights, or under section 203 of the Act respectively. 


Letter from Fidelity Management & Research Company



SCHEDULE A

SECURITY: Smith (WH) Plc                                        Amendment # 16


                    SHARES HELD     MANAGEMENT    NOMINEE/REGISTERED NAME 
                                     COMPANY      
(Ordinary Shares) 
                        592,100        FMRCO      Chase Nominees Limited
                        165,200        FMRCO      State Street Nominees Limited 
                          1,500         FMTC      State Street Nominees Ltd 
                         10,000         FMTC
                      8,441,135         FISL      Chase Nominees Limited
                        464,429          FPM      RBS Trust Bank
                        338,100          FPM      Bank of New York Europe 
                        118,059          FPM      Nortrust Nominees Ltd 
                         63,700          FPM      BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                        127,900          FPM      MSS Nominees Ltd
                        712,650          FPM      Chase Nominees Ltd
                        171,390          FPM      Citibank
                      1,116,948          FPM      Bankers Trust 
                         72,800          FPM      Mellon Nominees Ltd 
                        220,150          FPM      Northern Trust
                      1,175,757          FIL      RBS Trust Bank
                        385,600          FIL      Chase Nominees Ltd
                        695,900          FIL      Nortrust Nominees Ltd 
                        217,629          FIL      Morgan Stanley
                        135,760          FIL      Bankers Trust 
                      1,191,900          FIL      Northern Trust
                         77,340          FIL      Citibank
                     12,493,366          FIL      HSBC, London
                        175,950          FIL      BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                         19,400          FIL      Deutsche Bank AG, London
                      2,319,462          FIL      Bank of New York - London 
                        359,900          FIL      JP Morgan 
                        246,008          FIL      Chase Manhattan Bank London 
                        198,057          FIL      State Street Bank & Trust 
                        316,900          FIL      State Street Nominees Ltd     
                        237,900          FIL      Bank of New York Brussels

TOTAL ORDINARY  
SHARES:              32,862,890 

CURRENT OWNERSHIP 
PERCENTAGE:              13.15% 

SHARES IN ISSUE:    249,894,911 

CHANGE IN HOLDINGS  
SINCE LAST FILING:     +428,128 ordinary shares 


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