Holding(s) in Company

Smith WH PLC
5 March 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 4 MARCH 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 4 MARCH 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

     5 MARCH 2002

12)  Total holding following this notification

     22,487,764
               
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

     9.01%

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 ..5 MARCH 2002......................




Letter to Smith (WH) Plc
Dated March 4, 2002


Amendment No. 10

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. Those 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, of 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                                                    Amendment No. 10

Security: Smith (WH) 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
                       5,689,370      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
                         950,057      FIL                 RBS Trust Bank
                       1,190,589      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
                         721,433      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
                       9,459,290      FIL                  HSBC, London
                         171,550      FIL           BT Globenet Nominees Ltd
                          30,871      FIL           Deutsche Bank AG, London
                         309,000      FIL           Bank of New York - London
                           2,500      FIL           State Street Nominees Ltd
                           9,689      FIL                   JP Morgan
                          87,308      FIL         Chase Manhattan Bank London


Total Ordinary Shares                    22,487,764

Current ownership percentage:                 9.01%

Shares in issue:                        249,508,633

Change in holdings since last filing:    +2,242,669 ordinary shares


               
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