Byres H. Gitchell (1881-1970) was an American businessman and civil servant who worked to coordinate the business community during the Great Depression and the World Wars.

Gitchell was born in Horseheads, New York, the son of Hollis M. and Ida (Wales) Gitchell. Hollis was a Fire Commissioner and businessman. Gitchell graduated from Binghamton High School in 1900. In 1906, Gitchell married Helen Hogan of Emporium, PA. They had two children: Helen in 1909 and Byres in 1913.

Gitchell started working in the newspaper field in Binghamton, New York and Cleveland, Ohio (1900-1905), before transferring to a long career in business. Gitchell served as the Secretary for the Chamber of Commerce in Binghamton (1905-1912), Secretary and Treasurer for the Industrial Company (1907-1912), Secretary of the American Association of Commercial Executives (1907-1918), and Secretary for the Detroit Board of Commerce (1912-1916). He was briefly Superintendent of Dunn McCarthy (1909-1910). From 1916-1917, Gitchell was Assistant to James Couzens, Director in the National Chamber of Commerce.

Gitchell began serving in World War I in September 1917, when he was assigned to active duty as Captain in the Ordinance Reserve Corps. In January 1918, he was ordered to report to Office of Secretary of War for duty. Then in June 1918, he was appointed Chief Industrial Relations Department, Bureau of Aircraft Production, and in August 1918 he was appointed Major, U.S. Army. Gitchell was honorably discharged in December 1918.

After World War I, Gitchell returned to civilian life, focussing on clothing manufacturing. In 1919, he served as labor manager of the American Mens and Boys Clothing Manufacturers Association. Then in 1920, he served as labor manager for the Clothing Manufacturers Association. In 1921, he served as Labor Manager and Market Chairman for the Employers’ Association in New York City. In 1923, Gitchell served on a committee created by the Wholesale and Retail Garment Council to draw up a uniform order blank covering the purchase of women’s ready-to-wear. In 1929, Gitchell served as managing director of the Cavendish Trading Corporation.

In 1932, he served on the committee in charge of the Quality Campaign sponsored by the National Retail Dry Goods Association. A pamphlet was created to be distributed to retailers nationally to present how individual stores, could most effectively carry the quality message to the consumer.

During the Great Depression, Gitchell worked with various government and business initiatives to enforce fair business practices. Starting in 1933, Gitchell began serving as Deputy National Recovery Association (NRA) Administrator, a government program that tried to bring government, labor, and industry together to create codes and set prices. From 1933-1935, Gitchell served as Chairman of the Dress Code Authority. In January 1934, the first NRA label under the Dress Code Authority was sewn by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. Gitchell said the label marked “the beginning of self government in the industry under the NRA.” (NYTimes, 23 Jan 1934: 20) In April 1934, Gitchell was appointed by General Hugh S. Johnson, NRA Administrator, along with Adolf Feldblum, impartial chairman of the dress industry, to a special commission to settle dispute between contractors and jobbers. In August 1934, he presided at a meeting of retailers and Dress Code Authority to suggest code changes for improving functioning of the dress code.

In October 1934, Chester Bowles, Office of Price Administration (OPA) General Manager, appointed Gitchell as head of retail distribution branch of the Consumer Goods Price Division of the OPA. This appointment was part of the program of OPA to staff its operations with experienced business men and to simplify price control.

During Gitchell's government appointments, he continued to work off and on in the private sector. He became General Manager of Stern Brothers in New York City in 1933. After 1935, he served as acting managing director of the Bon March, Seattle, and as assistant to the president of Allied Stores (a position he held until at least 1950). He served as president of the Golden Rule Department Store of St. Paul, Minn until 1943.

During World War II, Gitchell again entered public service, escpecially working on price controls. In October 1943, he was appointed head of the retail distribution branch in the Consumer Goods Price Division of the OPA. This branch, formed to deal with retail prices of all products except food, provided link between OPA and retail merchants. In January 1944, he was appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Goods Price Division of the OPA. He resigned this post in or around Oct. 1944.

In October 1950 , Gitchell became Personnel Director for the Allied Stores Corporation. The same year he served as Chairman of the American Retail Federations task committee on manpower.

He died in Binghamton, New York, in 1970.