If you are sowing "indoors" then early Feb is probably about right. If you can mollycoddle them a bit then earlier - e.g. provide some extra light. No harm in sowing them early (e.g. "shortest day", but I don't think you will gain anything, compared to 1st Feb, unless you have some supplemental light, or you are growing-for-showing and every smidgen counts)
If you can only sow "outdoors" then March.
Onions start bulbing-up when the day length changes, so its the one crop which you cannot delay starting off and "catch up".
"Indoors" means sowing in, say, a seed tray at 15C-20C, then when they are hook-shaped (before they straighten out completely) pricking out into modules - small ones are better than big'uns, 1" square is fine. They should be kept at cooler temperature after germination, although warmer is probably OK if you also have supplemental light. Plant out when you are ready - uncoil the roots at the bottom of the module, and arrange them vertically in the planting hole.
Off to read Tee Gee's link now and see if I am anywhere close! If not I'm afraid its "Ask two gardeners and get three opinions"!!