Holding(s) in Company

Smith WH PLC
6 May 2003

                  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 BELOW LETTER DATED 5 MAY 2003


4)   Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the 
     number of shares held by each of them.
SEE BELOW LETTER DATED 5 MAY 2003


5)   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired.
N/A


6)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

7)   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed
N/A


8)   ( N/A %) 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
6 MAY 2003


12)  Total holding following this notification
21,931,673

               
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification
8.78%


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
I HOUGHTON

     Date of Notification 6 MAY 2003


Letter to: Smith (WH) Plc   - Dated 5 May 2003

AMENDMENT #21

NOTIFICATIONS UNDER SECTIONS 198 TO 202 -- UK 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 Trust Company (FMTC), 
           a US state chartered bank which acts as a trustee or investment
           manager of various pensions 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.

SCHEDULE A

SECURITY: Smith (W H) Plc                                 Amendment # 21


                      SHARES HELD   MANAGEMENT   NOMINEE/REGISTERED
                                     COMPANY     NAME
(Ordinary Shares)
                          1,500          FMTC     State Street Nominees Ltd
                         10,000          FMTC     
                      9,485,925          FISL     Chase Nominees Limited
                        492,429           FPM     RBS Trust Bank
                        344,100           FPM     Bank of New York Europe
                        169,959           FPM     Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                         63,700           FPM     BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                         58,000           FPM     MSS Nominees Ltd
                        151,300           FPM     Chase Nominees Ltd
                        186,690           FPM     Citibank
                        432,014           FPM     Bankers Trust
                         72,450           FPM     Northern Trust
                        796,550           FIL     RBS Trust Bank
                        385,600           FIL     Chase Nominees Ltd
                        494,428           FIL     Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                        229,029           FIL     Morgan Stanley
                        134,660           FIL     Bankers Trust
                        744,700           FIL     Northern Trust
                         53,140           FIL     Citibank
                      4,848,631           FIL     HSBC, London
                         46,131           FIL     BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                      1,322,462           FIL     Bank of New York - London
                        376,710           FIL     JP Morgan
                        479,091           FIL     Chase Manhattan Bank London
                        270,774           FIL     State Street Bank & Trust
                        204,400           FIL     State Street Nominees Ltd
                         77,300           FIL     Bank of New York Brussels
                                                  

TOTAL ORDINARY SHARES:                  21,931,673

CURRENT OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE:           8.78%

SHARES IN ISSUE:                        249,899,308

CHANGE IN HOLDINGS SINCE LAST FILING:   (2,693,890) ordinary shares

Letter from: Fidelity Management & Research Company                     

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