 Frederick William IV of Prussia recognised the bravery of the soldiers and ordered an account of the incident to be read at the head of every regiment in his army . Queen Victoria ordered the erection of an official Birkenhead monument at the Chelsea Royal Hospital . In 1892 , Thomas M. M. Hemy painted a widely admired maritime depiction of the incident , " The wreck of the Birkenhead " . Prints of this painting were distributed to the public . In 1977 , the South African mint issued a " Heroes of the Birkenhead Medallion " gold coin commemorating the 125 years since the sinking , featuring Hemy 's painting on one of the faces of the coin . 
