Holding(s) in Company

Smith WH PLC
24 January 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 23 JANUARY 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 23 JANUARY 2002

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

     24 JANUARY 2002

12)  Total holding following this notification

     17,536,182
               
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

     7.03%

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, SECRETARY

     Date of Notification ...24 JANUARY 2002.....................




Amendment No. 8


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.




                                     By Lena G. Goldberg
                                     Senior V.P. and General Counsel - FMR Corp.
                                     Duly authorized under Powers of
                                     Attorney dated January 18, 2002 by Eric
                                     D. Roiter by and on behalf of Fidelity
                                     International Limited and its direct and
                                     indirect subsidiaries.




Schedule A                                                      Amendment No. 8


Security: Smith (W H) Plc


                                      MANAGEMENT 
                    SHARES HELD        COMPANY        NOMINEE/REGISTERED NAME
(Ordinary Shares)

                         22,000          FMTC      State Street Nominees Ltd.
                        102,457          FMTC      HSBC, London
                         13,500          FMTC      National Cities
                          9,702          FMTC      Nortrust Nominees
                          4,400          FMTC      Brown Brothers Harriman         
                      4,677,140          FISL      Chase Nominees Limited
                        326,050          FPM       RBS Trust Bank
                        286,200          FPM       Bank of New York Europe
                          2,470          FPM       Nordea
                         54,960          FPM       Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                         55,500          FPM       BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                        109,800          FPM       MSS Nominees Ltd
                        679,250          FPM       Chase Nominees Ltd
                         53,390          FPM       Citibank
                        861,656          FPM       Bankers Trust
                         52,700          FPM       Mellon Nominees Ltd
                        209,050          FPM       Northern Trust
                        948,257          FIL       RBS Trust Bank
                      1,120,389          FIL       Chase Nominees Ltd
                        463,334          FIL       Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                        181,929          FIL       Morgan Stanley
                         24,400          FIL       NAB-Australia
                        101,060          FIL       Bankers Trust
                        719,733          FIL       Northern Trust
                         68,987          FIL       Citibank
                          7,056          FIL       State Street Bank & Trust
                          3,500          FIL       Credit Suisse
                        170,256          FIL       Bank of New York Europe
                          2,500          FIL       National Australia Bank
                      5,691,338          FIL       HSBC, London
                        171,550          FIL       BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                         15,471          FIL       Deutsche Bank AG, London
                        261,900          FIL       Bank of New York - London
                          2,500          FIL       State Street Nominees Ltd.
                          7,889          FIL       JP Morgan
                         53,908          FIL       Chase Manhattan Bank London



Total Ordinary Shares                  17,536,182

Current ownership percentage:               7.03%

Shares is issue:                      249,481,932

Change in holding since last filing:   +2,514,922  ordinary shares




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