What's broken.
 

Today while shooting clays suddenly the top lever will not work. It moves about 1/4 inch and stops solid with 2 fired shells inside. DH 12 Gauge 1903 Damascus.Any thoughts. Thanks. Gerald

I had a top lever spring break recently on a VHE 20, but that produced a loose top lever that wouldn't stay closed. Hpoe fully, someone more knowledgable will answer soon

A Parker of that vintage has the multi-piece top lever linkage.
It could be a number of things causing the issue. Hard to say. Between the top lever parts themselves and a few other possible variables, there are a lot of parts that could be suspect.

I had the same problem a few months ago. It started with the safety. Does the safety button work normally now? With higher humidity levels swelling inside the stock can interfere with the safety reset rod and the lever linkage. I had to use more force than normal to push the lever over and then to work the safety back and forth. But everything loosened up after I worked it for a while and everything's been normal ever since.

The safety button works as normal. Thanks Garth

Well,well it is not broken Just stuck. I needed to put more pressure on the lever and grease the barrel lug. This gun is still very tight. Thanks for the replies. Gerald

I believe this type of jam is caused by the unequal breech angles discussed in my article on page 47 of the Winter 2019 Parker Pages. The difference in angles allows a sort of wedging action that can leave a residual force on the locking bolt after firing. The base of the shell can be displaced upward and may 'lock itself in place'.

Upon further inspection I noticed some trash stuck in the receiver in the bolt area which I think came from my vest pocket where I carry shells. I remember seeing some on a couple of shell while shooting. Cleaned that out so will see what happens. Gerald.