Holding(s) in Company

Smith WH PLC
8 July 2002

                  DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS


1)   NAME OF COMPANY

WH SMITH PLC

2)   NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST

SILCHESTER INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS 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 2 JULY 2002

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 2 JULY 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

8 JULY 2002

12)  Total holding following this notification

35,559,512
               
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

14.23%

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

     Date of Notification 8 JULY 2002...............


Letter to: WH Smith Limited

Dated:  2nd July 2002

We act as an Investment Manager for a number of large institutional investors
and for a number of commingled funds.  In acting for our Clients, we are given
full discretion over the investments, and are empowered to vote on their behalf.
However, we do not act as their Custodian, and therefore shares are not held in
our name, but in the nominee name of their Custodian Bank.

Recent purchases of shares in your company by ourselves, on behalf of our
clients, have resulted in our having control over the following shares (also
see below):

SILCHESTER:                   35,559,512               Ordinary Shares

Our records show that you have the following shares in that class

WH SMITH                     249,881,000               Ordinary Shares

As such, we exercise control over 14.23% of the shares of that class.

Letter from:  SILCHESTER INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS LIMITED


Company:          WH Smith Limited

Share Class:      Ord

Issued Shares:    249,881,000

                                          % of Class
SII Ownership:    35,559,512              14.23%         Date:    2nd July 2002

SII Account         Nominees                  %            Share Holding         Voting Authority

GROUP               Northern Trust Co       3.38            8,477,218                YES

GTINV               Northern Trust          0.17              431,300                YES

LICRF               Bankers Trust           0.17              438,000                YES

MOSER               Boston Safe Deposit
                    Trust                   0.65            1,631,400                YES

PATCH               Northern Trust Co       0.45            1,128,445                YES

SIEBT               Northern Trust Co       8.12           20,349,348                YES

SOLAR               Daiwa Europe Bank       0.16              393,950                YES

TEXAS               Northern Trust Co       0.46            1,148,900                YES

TRUST               Northern Trust Co       0.31              780,321                YES

VITAL               Northern Trust Co       0.31              780,630                YES

TOTAL                                                      35,559,512

                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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