During the following months the Rae family worked through the Red Cross to get news of Matthew. In November, a letter came from the Prisoners of War Department of the Canadian Red Cross Society in London, England
I am very sorry to hear that no news has yet come through of Pte. M. Rae, 109558. I hoped that by now his family would have heard from him again even though we had not. I have made special inquiries through the International Red Cross at Geneva. They tell me that they have written to Belgium to try and ascertain the condition of this soldier. Any information concerning him, we will therefore communicate to you as well as to his family in Unionville. This long and continued anxiety must be very hard to bear.
Over the winter months, contact was made – the family received postcards written by Matthew from prison hospital and hoped that he might survive his ordeal as a wounded prisoner of war. But in May 1917 came the news that Matthew had died of his wounds on March 19, 1917, at the age of 24:
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