Assuming that date of birth is correct (and obviously, Ernest Alfred didn't register it himself

), then he may have been registered as Ernest Alfred Hohaus/Hohans in West Derby (part of L'pool) in Jun Q 1897 or as Ernest Alfred Jones in Toxteth Park (also L'pool) in Sept Q 1897.
Could his parents possibly have been unmarried at the time of his birth, only to marry later? There are a few Tomkins/Jones marriages after 1897. His parents may have remained unmarried of course, and all just used the name Tomkins.