Holding in Company

Smith WH PLC
5 November 2001


                  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 2 NOVEMBER 2001

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 2 NOVEMBER 2001
     
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

     5 NOVEMBER 2001

12)  Total holding following this notification

     15,021,260
               
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

     6.02%

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 .....5 NOVEMBER 2001.....


LETTER TO SMITH (WH) PLC
DATED 2 NOVEMBER 2001

Below are amended notifications or disclosable interests under the U.K. 
Companies Act 1985. Please note that while this information details the 
disclosable interests of more than one entity, the disclosure below constitutes 
separate notifications of interest which have been combined solely for purposes 
of clarity and efficiency. It is not intended to indicate that any of these 
entities act as a group or in concert with respect to these interests.

These disclosures are made in the interest of conformity with the Companies Act.
The Interest detailed herein was acquired solely for investment purposes. For 
disclosure purposes, holdings should be represented as FMR Corp. and its direct 
and indirect subsidiaries, and Fidelity International Limited (FIL) and its 
direct and indirect subsidiaries, both being non-beneficial holders.



Amendment No. 7

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 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.


SCHEDULE A

SECURITY: SMITH (WH) PLC                                  Amendment No 7

                      SHARES HELD   MANAGEMENT   NOMINEE/REGISTERED
                                     COMPANY     NAME
(Ordinary Shares)          
                          41,100     FMTC        State Street Nominees Ltd
                         113,800     FMTC        HSBC, London
                          18,500     FMTC        National Cities
                          18,100     FMTC        Bank of New York - Europe    
                          13,302     FMTC        Nortrust Nominees
                       3,894,540     FISL        Chase Nominees Limited
                         327,650     FPM         RBS Trust Bank
                         289,200     FPM         Bank of New York Europe
                           3,370     FPM         Nordea
                          54,960     FPM         Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                          56,200     FPM         BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                         110,400     FPM         MSS Nominees Ltd
                         804,900     FPM         Chase Nominees Ltd
                          53,390     FPM         Citibank
                         778,256     FPM         Bankers Trust
                       1,027,649     FIL         RBS Trust Bank
                         966,189     FIL         Chase Nominees Ltd
                         458,734     FIL         Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                         207,629     FIL         Morgan Stanley
                          33,500     FIL         NAB-Australia
                         101,060     FIL         Bankers Trust
                         585,833     FIL         Northern Trust
                          77,287     FIL         Citibank     
                           9,656     FIL         State Street Bank & Trust
                           3,700     FIL         Credit Suisse
                         179,056     FIL         Bank of New York Europe
                           3,500     FIL         National Australia Bank
                       4,629,789     FIL         HSBC, London
                         111,050     FIL         BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                           3,071     FIL         Deutsche Bank AG, London
                          33,800     FIL         Bank of New York - London
                           3,400     FIL         State Street Nominees Ltd
                           8,689     FIL         JP Morgan

TOTAL ORDINARY SHARES: 15,021,260

CURRENT OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE:  6.02%

SHARES IN ISSUE:     249,371,882

CHANGE IN HOLDINGS SINCE
 LAST FILING:        + 2,463,456 ORDINARY SHARES