The London Free School (LFS) was founded on 8 March 1966, principally by John "Hoppy" Hopkins and Rhaune Laslett.
The London Free School was a community action adult education project inspired by American free universities (and the Victorian Jewish Free School in Spitalfields). The organisers have been described as an "anarchic temporary coalition" of the old guard New Left and CND housing activists from the Rachman days and the new beatnik/hippy generation. The former included George Clark of the Notting Hill Community Workshop, Richard Hauser (who ran a community scheme after the 1958 riots), Rhaune and Jim Laslett-O’Brien, Bill Richardson of the Powis and Colville Residents Association, Andre and Barbara Shervington.
To varying degrees of involvement, the hippy contingent numbered John Hopkins, Michael X, Courtney Tulloch (IT), Lloyd Hunter, Peter Jenner (who was just starting to manage Pink Floyd), Joe Boyd of Elektra Records and UFO, Andrew King, Michael Horovitz, John Michell, Julie Felix, Jeff Nuttall, Mike McInnerney (Tommy artist), Graham Keen (IT), Neil Oram (The Warp), Dave Tomlin (IT), Felix de Mendelssohn (Children of Albion), Nigel Waymouth of Granny Takes a Trip, John Esam, Alexander Trocchi, the jazz writer Ron Atkins, the Warhol star Kate Heliczer, Harvey Matusow (the McCarthy witchtrials saboteur), R. D. Laing and "the Belsize Park shrinks", Emily Young, Anjelica Huston and Pink Floyd.